Table 5.

Change in patient-perception of fatigue between baseline and 3-month visit in subgroups of patients with or without improvement in hemoglobin levels (defined as an increase ≥1 g/dL or achieving >11 g/dL)

	Patients without improvement in Hb (N = 180)				Patients with improvement in Hb (N = 347)				P valueb
	Baseline visit	3-month visit	Mean change (95 % CI)	Effect size	Baseline visita	3-month visit	Mean change (95 % CI)	Effect size
PERFORM questionnaire, mean
Global score	32.7	35.6	3.3 (1.6 to 5)*	0.22	31.4	29.9	−1.2 (−0.04 to −2.4)*	−0.12	<0.001
Activities of daily living	10.8	11.9	0.95 (0.4 to 1.5)*	0.26	10.6	10.0	−0.59 (−0.1 to −1.0)*	−0.14	<0.001
Beliefs and attitudes	11.2	11.9	0.86 (0.2 to 1.5)*	0.14	10.8	10.2	−0.36 (−0.8 to 0.1)	−0.14	0.004
Physical limitations	10.9	11.9	1.2 (0.5 to 1.9)*	0.19	10.1	9.8	−0.33 (−0.8 to 0.1)	−0.07	<0.001
VAS fatigue, mean, mm	44.9	53.7	9.2 (5.2 to 13.2)*	0.32	42.3	42.4	0.60 (−2.3 to 3.5)	0.01	<0.001
LASA, mean, mm
Energy	53.1	50.4	−2.6 (−6.6 to 1.4)	−0.12	55.1	59.3	4.2 (1.5 to 6.9)*	0.18	0.003
Activities of daily living	55.9	52.5	−3.7 (−8.0 to 0.6)	−0.13	56.1	61.2	4.8 (1.8 to 7.8)*	0.19	0.001
Overall quality of life	57.5	52.4	−5.5 (−9.3 to −1.7)*	−0.23	59.2	63.8	4.5 (2.1 to 6.9)*	0.20	<0.001

In the PERFORM questionnaire and VAS-fatigue low scores indicate less impact of fatigue on the patient’s life; in the LASA questionnaire, low scores indicate worse quality of life

CI confidence interval, Hb hemoglobin, LASA Linear Analogue Self-Assessment, VAS Visual Analogue Scale

*p < 0.05 between baseline and 3-month visit (within-subgroup paired analysis)

^aNo significant differences were found in baseline measures of fatigue between the two subgroups

^bComparison of mean change between the two subgroups