Abstract
Objectives: Fatigue is a common symptom experienced by many people who visit Oriental medical clinics or hospital. However, there has been little study about the fatigue in the Oriental medical academic world. For this reason, we attempted to investigate the present status of fatigue of outpatients, and its relation with Health Practice Index(HPI). Methods: The subjects were 63 outpatients who visited the Tonification Clinic in Kyunghee Oriental Medical Center between January 1, 2001 and July 31, 2001. Their chief complaint was fatigue and they did not have any physical or mental problem. They were given a questionnaire which included questions reflecting general characteristics, fatigue degree and health habits. We measured degree of fatigue by Chalder scale et al. Health habits were investigated about 5 articles out of 'Breslow 7 Health habits'. Results: Among the subjects, 48 people(76.2%) were considered as 'fatigue patients' by the Chalder scale. Of this 48 fatigue patients, 27 people(56.3%) had manifested fatigue for more than 6 months. The average of scale II for all the patients was 14.05, which indicates moderate degree of fatigue. They complained fatigue, drowsiness and general weakness, dryness and discomfort of the eyes, headache, shoulder pain and neck stiffness, dizziness, heat in the upper part of the body, and poor concentration. There were no differences in degree of fatigue according to Health habits including exercise or not, smoking or not, the frequency of drinking, hours of sleeping, and body mass index. Conclusions: Many people complain fatigue symptom. Therefore doctors should have more interest in fatigue and care. This study can provide standards of prognosis of fatigue patients. Also prospective studies are needed to find relationship between health habits and fatigue degree.
