Does fatigue and distress in a clinical cohort of adolescents with CFS correlate with fatigue and distress in their parents?, 2018, Loades et al

Andy

Andy

Retired committee member
Abstract
Objectives
Previous studies have found that parents of children with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are more fatigued, and mothers are more distressed than healthy controls. Managing the disabling symptoms of CFS can result in disruption and burden for the family. Most research has focused on mothers. This study sought to further explore the associations between adolescent fatigue and distress and parental fatigue and distress, as well as family functioning, including both mothers and fathers.

Design
Cross‐sectional study of a clinical cohort of consecutive attenders at a specialist chronic fatigue unit.

Methods
Questionnaires were completed by adolescents (N = 115, age 11–18) with a confirmed diagnosis of CFS and their mothers (N = 100) and fathers (N = 65).

Results
Maternal fatigue was significantly correlated with maternal distress, but not with adolescent fatigue, depression, anxiety, or functioning. This pattern held true for paternal fatigue. Maternal and paternal anxiety and depression were significantly correlated with family functioning. Paternal and maternal distress were correlated with each other. Mothers and fathers tended to have a consistent view of family functioning. Family functioning, specifically being overwhelmed by difficulties and scoring lower on strengths and adaptability, was positively associated with adolescent depression. Unexpectedly, higher levels of adolescent fatigue and poorer physical functioning were associated with better family functioning as rated by the mother.

Conclusions
Parents of adolescents with fatigue scored near to or within normative range for non‐clinical samples on distress, fatigue, and family functioning. Parental distress may contribute to or result from poorer family functioning. Family functioning, particularly building strengths and adaptability, may be clinically important in CFS, as well as attending to parental (particularly paternal) distress in families where adolescents are low in mood.
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Paywalled at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cch.12626
 
Looks like they looked at a wide range of possible associations between different factors as shown on questionnaires. Then cherry picked the ones they found interesting and put some of these in the results section and some in the conclusions section.

My main take away from this abstract is that they didn't find the association they thought (hoped?) they would find to confirm their prejudice that kids are sicker when they have inadequate mothers.
Coming from Trudie Chalder's team, I don't think they even understand what they are doing.
 
Trish said:
Looks like they looked at a wide range of possible associations between different factors as shown on questionnaires. Then cherry picked the ones they found interesting and put some of these in the results section and some in the conclusions section.

My main take away from this abstract is that they didn't find the association they thought (hoped?) they would find to confirm their prejudice that kids are sicker when they have inadequate mothers.
Coming from Trudie Chalder's team, I don't think they even understand what they are doing.
Click to expand...
How about comparing with families who are dealing with other chronic illness in their children? This is child's play level research.
 
Trish said:
Coming from Trudie Chalder's team, I don't think they even understand what they are doing.
Click to expand...
Can't comment on that.

But:

Trish said:
My main take away from this abstract is that they didn't find the association they thought (hoped?) they would find to confirm their prejudice that kids are sicker when they have inadequate mothers.
Click to expand...

An alternative interpretation would be testing (indirectly) for genetic components.
 
Manganus said:
Do I interpret this correctly?
Fatigued children do (usually) not have fatigued parents?
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I think the correct interpretation is this is a jobs program for mediocre researchers who publish useless studies for the sake of publishing useless studies.

Because why work on fixing the problem when you can instead describe it slightly differently but equally uselessly or find yet another way of mixing causation with correlation?

Also: is fatigue the new stress? The thing that you can just chalk everything down to because you can't test for it and so it's a magical explanation where researchers can basically color in what they want as long as it confirms their bias?
 
Adolescent and parent factors related to fatigue in paediatric multiple sclerosis and chronic fatigue syndrome: a comparative study

Susan Carroll
,
Trudie Chalder
,
Cheryl Hemingway
,
Isobel Heyman
,
Holly Bear
,
Louise Sweeney
,
Rona Moss-Morris

Email the author Rona Moss-Morris
Published Online: November 02, 2018

https://www.ejpn-journal.com/article/S1090-3798(18)30016-3/fulltext

There is also This.

“In paediatric Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), effective psychological interventions have been developed based on psychosocial factors associated with fatigue. This study aimed to identify potentially modifiable factors of fatigue in caMS by comparing caMS, adolescents with CFS, healthy adolescents and their parents on measures of fatigue, psychosocial factors, and neurocognitive functioning.”
 
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