Linear regression per factor with dependent variable fatigue (PedsQL MFS general fatigue scale) for the entire group of children with chronic diseases, adjusted for sex and age
| Associated modifiable factors | Unstandardised β | Effect size | 95% CI |
| Biological/lifestyle factors | |||
| Factors associated with more fatigue | |||
| Pain (VAS, range 0–10) | −4.0 | −0.5 | −4.7 to −3.4** |
| Difficulties getting to sleep (0–5; ‘never’ to ‘almost every day’) | −6.1 | −0.4 | −7.4 to −4.9** |
| Factors associated with less fatigue | |||
| No of days physically active/week (0–7) | 1.8 | 0.2 | 0.9 to 2.8** |
| Physical functioning (PedsQL GCS subscale, range 0–100) | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 to 0.8** |
| Factors not associated with fatigue | |||
| BMI z-score | −1.2 | −0.1 | −3.3 to 0.8 |
| Psychological factors | |||
| Factors associated with more fatigue | |||
| Depressive symptoms (RCADS, range 0–30) | −3.9 | −0.8 | −4.2 to −3.6** |
| Anxiety level (RCADS, range 0–111) | −0.9 | −0.5 | −1.1 to −0.8** |
| Pain catastrophising (PCS-C, range 0–52) | −1.2 | −0.5 | −1.4 to −1.0** |
| Factors associated with less fatigue | |||
| Emotional functioning (PedsQL GCS, range 0–100) | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 to 0.8** |
| Social factors | |||
| Factors associated with more fatigue | |||
| Pressure at school (0–4; ‘not at all’ to ‘a lot’) | −8.8 | −0.3 | −11.2 to −6.4** |
| Being bullied (0–5; ‘never’ to ‘several times per week’) | −4.2 | −0.1 | −7.7 to −0.8* |
| Factors associated with less fatigue | |||
| Communication at home (1–5, higher score=better communication) | 4.9 | 0.1 | 1.7 to 8.2** |
| Support at home (1–7, higher score=more support) | 2.8 | 0.1 | 0.8 to 4.8** |
| Support by friends (1–7, higher score=more support) | 3.4 | 0.2 | 1.9 to 5.0** |
| Social functioning (PedsQL GCS subscale, range 0–100) | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.8 to 1.0** |
| Member of a sports team or club (0=not a member, 1=member) | 9.2 | 0.2 | 4.8 to 13.6** |
| Factors not associated with fatigue in this sample | |||
| Screen time per day (hours/day) | −1.2 | −0.1 | −2.8 to 0.4 |
The PedsQL MFS is scored on a scale from 0 to 100, with a lower score indicating more severe fatigue. Thus, a negative correlation indicates a lower score, thus indicating more fatigue.
*P<0.05, **p<0.01.
BMI, body mass index; PCS-C, Pain Catastrophising Scale for Children; PedsQL GCS, PedsQL Generic Core Scale; PedsQL MFS, PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale; RCADS, Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale; VAS, Visual Analogue Scale.