Relationships Between Blood Glucose Levels, Stress, and Fatigue of Stroke Patients

Abstract

The purpose of this descriptive research was to determine the relationships between blood glucose level, stress, and fatigue in stroke patients. The concept of Lenz et al. was used as a framework in conjunction with literature review. 120 stroke patients with age ranging from 20 to 59 years were enrolled by using a purposive sampling during July to October 2016. The research instruments were a blood glucose meter [DTX], Thai perceived stress scale-10 (T-PSS-10), and fatigue severity scale (FSS). The reliability of T-PSS-10 and FSS by using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient were .83 and .86, respectively. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation coefficient.

The study revealed that many stroke patients (37.5%) experienced fatigue ( = 3.62, SD=1.17). High blood sugar levels and stress were positively correlated with fatigue in stroke patients (r=.32, p<.05 and r=.68, p<.05 respectively). In conclusion the results of this study show the correlation of factors related to fatigue in stroke. Future studies should investigate the factors that influence fatigue and develop nurse intervention to address the causes of fatigue in stroke patients.