Effects of a Home-based Exercise Intervention on Fatigue in Postpartum Depressed Women: Results of a Randomized Controll
- PDF / 200,030 Bytes
- 9 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 12 Downloads / 223 Views
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Effects of a Home-based Exercise Intervention on Fatigue in Postpartum Depressed Women: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial Maria Dritsa, Ph.D. & Deborah Da Costa, Ph.D. & Gilles Dupuis, Ph.D. & Ilka Lowensteyn, Ph.D. & Samir Khalifé, M.D.
Published online: 27 March 2008 # The Society of Behavioral Medicine 2008
Abstract Background Fatigue is prevalent during the postpartum period and may be heightened in postpartum depressed women. Purpose To evaluate the efficacy of a home-based exercise intervention in reducing physical and mental fatigue scores in postpartum depressed women. Methods Eighty-eight women in the postpartum (4– 38 weeks) obtaining a score ≥10 on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) were randomly assigned to a 12-week individualized home-based intervention (n=46) or a control group (n=42). All participants completed a cardiovascular fitness test at baseline. Outcomes were physical and mental fatigue scores and were measured at baseline, posttreatment and 3 months posttreatment. Results On the basis of intent-to-treat analyses, compared to the control group, women in the exercise group showed significantly greater reduction in physical fatigue at postThis study was funded by an operating grant from the Fonds de recherche en santé du Québec (#024018). M. Dritsa : G. Dupuis Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Canada M. Dritsa (*) : D. Da Costa : I. Lowensteyn Division of Clinical Epidemiology, McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), 687 Pine Avenue West, V Building, Montreal, QC, Canada H3A-1A1 e-mail: [email protected] S. Khalifé Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Royal Victoria Hospital MUHC, Montreal, Canada
treatment [mean change= −4.07, (95% CI, (−5.15, −2.98)] and 3 months posttreatment [mean change=−4.24, (95% CI, (−5.36, −3.12)]. Significant reductions in mental fatigue with exercise were observed at posttreatment for women reporting lower physical fatigue at baseline. Conclusions Fatigue is a common symptom experienced in the postpartum that can be heightened by depression. The findings show that home-based exercise can reduce physical and mental fatigue in postpartum depressed women. Keywords Fatigue . Postpartum depression . Home-based exercise
Introduction Fatigue is a common symptom experienced during the postpartum [1, 2] with up to 67% of women reporting severe fatigue at 12 months postdelivery [2]. This rate is considerably higher than those reported in primary care (13.6%) [3]. While maternal fatigue in the postpartum is often considered as a symptom that self-resolves, fatigue levels at 14 and 19 months postdelivery are comparable to those reported at 6 weeks postdelivery [4]. Fatigue is also a common presenting symptom of depression, with reports that up to 73% of depressed patients present with fatigue as a symptom of the disorder [5]. Epidemiological studies of fatigued patients show that fatigue and depression co-occur in 17 to 56% of cases [3, 6, 7]. During the postpartum period, 10 to 16% of women suf
Data Loading...
