B4145 - Fatigue among adolescents and young people with psychotic experiences Results from the ALSPAC birth cohort - 20/09/2022

B number: 
B4145
Principal applicant name: 
Trudie Chalder | King's College London (United Kingdom)
Co-applicants: 
Ms Kim Poole-Wright, Fiona Gaughran, Mr Ismail Guennouni
Title of project: 
Fatigue among adolescents and young people with psychotic experiences: Results from the ALSPAC birth cohort
Proposal summary: 

The experience of psychotic-like experiences (PLE), such as hallucinations and delusions, are not uncommon in the general population. Previous studies have indicated that adolescents reported higher rates of approximately 13% for at least one symptom (Horwood et al., 2008) and 4.9% for ‘definite’ symptoms among 18 year olds. Research shows that those with PLE have lower global and social functioning outcomes (Pontillo, De Luca, Pucciarini, Vicari, & Armando, 2018), which become progressively impaired on the course to schizophrenia (Addington, 2003). Among these impairments, is a ‘marked lack of energy’. Fatigue becomes a factor in the prodrome phase of psychosis (Chen et al., 2019), and for those with a psychotic diagnosis (Poole-Wright, Gaughran, Murray, & Chalder, 2022). Although it is an important factor in these phases, not much is known about fatigue in those experiencing attenuated symptoms. Some research into sub-types of PLE, such as unusual perceptual experiences or ideas of reference, has been related to fatigue. For example, fatigue was found to mediate the relationship between adverse experiences with caregivers and ideas of reference in non-clinical participants (León-Palacios, Garrido-Fernández, Senín-Calderón, Perona-Garcelán, & Rodríguez-Testal, 2019). Young people at ultra-high risk were found to manage their fatigue by various strategies (Carney, Cotter, Bradshaw, & Yung, 2017). However, fatigue and its associations in those with PLE remain under-explored in the literature. This research will address this gap in the literature by examining the prevalence and associations of fatigue in adolescents and young people who experience psychotic-like symptoms.

Impact of research: 
This research is intended to extend current understanding of fatigue symptoms in psychosis by investigating whether fatigue is implicated in adolescents with psychotic-like experiences, and if tiredness is an important factor in PLE. This could be significant in the continuum to a psychosis diagnosis by indicating that fatigue is a factor in the early alterations in functioning (alongside cognitive, social and communication declines) in those with PLE.
Date proposal received: 
Monday, 12 September, 2022
Date proposal approved: 
Tuesday, 20 September, 2022
Keywords: 
Epidemiology, Chronic fatigue, Statistical methods, psychotic experiences, fatigue, depression, anxiety, physical activity