PhD defence E.A. (Lianne) de Vries

Brief summary:

Fatigue is common after a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and often has a significant impact on daily life. Therefore, this thesis investigated the relationship between fatigue, participation, and quality of life (QoL), as well as ways to reduce fatigue after SAH by gaining insight into the experience of fatigue and the role of physical activity.

We found that four to five years after an SAH, fatigue is strongly associated with poorer participation and QoL. Additionally, we observed that people become more fatigued throughout the day and experience more fatigue on weekdays than on weekend days. We identified three different fatigue patterns, with most people becoming more fatigued during the day. We also found that fatigue, social support, illness perception, and cognitive impairments can affect how physically active people are after SAH. Older individuals, smokers, unemployed individuals, and those who have had a more severe SAH tend to be less physically active and spend more time sitting, which is also linked to poorer participation and QoL. Finally, we discovered that people with an SAH are less physically active when they are more fatigued, but they also feel more fatigued when they are more physically active.

The insights from this research can help healthcare providers and individuals who have had an SAH to better understand how fatigue develops throughout the day. In the future, it should be studied whether it is possible to improve physical activity by targeting the factors identified in this study, and whether this reduces fatigue.