Abstract

Early investigators of fatigue despaired at the development of an acceptable definition and measure of fatigue and ultimately declared “that the term fatigue be absolutely banished from precise scientific discussion and consequently that attempts to obtain a fatigue test be abandoned” (Muscio, 1921, p. 45). In more recent years, fatigue has been acknowledged as a pervasive public health problem, well deserving of serious scientific query, in part because feelings of fatigue have a significant negative impact on quality of life and work productivity (Ricci, Chee, Lorandeau, & Berger, 2007). A better understanding of feelings of fatigue ultimately could contribute to enhancing quality of life as well as improving the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of fatigue-related health problems.