Study of fatigue among selected occupational groups in Egypt

ABSTRACT

Fatigue is a common yet not fully understood complaint both in general population and work environment. Due to its potential impact on performance in the workplace, it is important to examine fatigue determinants. To test use of a validated Arabic questionnaire to compare the fatigue scores in doctors, teachers and engineers, and to relate fatigue scores to personality traits and physical and psychological stresses in the work place. Three volunteer samples from each group were selected and subjected to a short questionnaire, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory [MFSI]. General fatigue was reported by 8.5% of doctors, 3.5% of the teachers and 3% of the engineers. In the different fatigue scales, fatigue score among doctors were the highest, followed by teachers and lastly engineers. The highest fatigue score differences were observed in somatic fatigue and cognitive fatigue scores followed by the affective and global scales and lastly the behavioral scale, Age, presence of chronic diseases, neuroticism score and extraversion score were independent determinants of fatigue scores while the respondents' personal perception of physical and psychological stresses in the work environment played minor roles. Fatigue is a common complaint among doctors, teachers and engineers. Age, personality traits, presence of a chronic disease as Well as the nature of the work are determinants of all fatigue scales