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. 2021 Sep 30;13(19):4948. doi: 10.3390/cancers13194948

Table 1.

Study outcome measures and corresponding questionnaires.

Variable Assessment Details
Primary Outcomes
Cancer-related fatigue VAS-fatigue
  • 1 item; 11-point Likert scale

  • Total score: 0–10; higher scores indicate more fatigue.

  • Time frame: this moment.

MFI
  • 20 items; 5-point Likert scale.

  • Subscales: general fatigue, mental fatigue, physical fatigue, reduced motivation, reduced activity. Only general fatigue is used since psychometric validation of this scale indicated that this subscale is the most reliable [36].

  • Subscale score: 4–20; higher scores indicate more fatigue.

  • Time frame: past few days.

Restrictions caused by fatigue WSAS
  • 5 items; value range between 0.00 and 8.00.

  • Total score: 0–40; higher scores indicate higher levels of disability.

  • Time frame: influence of fatigue on daily life.

Secondary Outcomes
Sleep quality PSQI
  • 19 items; 4-point Likert scale and open-ended questions.

  • Subscales: subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleeping medication, daytime dysfunction.

  • Total score: 0–21; subscale scores: 0–3; higher scores indicate more acute sleep disturbances.

  • Time frame: past month.

Depression CES-D
  • 20 items; 4-point Likert scale.

  • Total score: 0–60; higher scores indicate greater depressive symptoms.

  • Time frame: past week.

Anxiety STAI-6
  • 6 items; 4-point Likert scale.

  • Total score: 20–80; higher scores indicate increased anxiety.

  • Time frame: this moment.

Quality of life RAND-36
  • 36 items; dichotomous and 3- to 6-point Likert scale.

  • Scales: physical functioning, role limitations due to physical health, role limitations due to emotional problems, energy, emotional well-being, social functioning, pain, general health

  • Scale scores: 0–100; higher scores indicates higher levels of functioning/well-being.

  • Time frame: past 4 weeks.

Sleep Wrist actigraphy
  • Device: MotionWatch8 (Camntech, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom).

  • Software to handle data: MotionWare (Camntech, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom).

  • Technical settings: epoch length 60 s, tri-axial mode.

  • Location: non-dominant wrist.

  • Time period: 10 days (Friday 18:00 h till Monday 12:00 h).

  • Actigraphy log included: bedtime, attempted time to fall asleep, wake-up time, out-of-bed time, nap times, non-wear times.

  • Derived sleep variables: sleep efficiency, mid sleep, and total bedtime.

  • Derived sleep-wake rhythm variables: Interdaily stability (IS; an estimate of the 24-h sleep-wake rhythm) and intradaily variability (IV; an estimate of the stability of the sleep–wake rhythm) [44].

  • A measurements point was excluded from the sleep variables analyses when the actigraphy was worn for less than 4 nights and from the sleep–wake rhythm variables analyses when the actigraphy was worn for less than 72 consecutive hours.

  • Scores: IS: 0–2; higher scores indicate a more fragmented rhythm; IV: 0–1; 1 indicates perfect synchronization.

Cortisol Salivary cortisol
  • Saliva collection via a passive drool technique in a propylene vial at the participants’ home.

  • Sample collection on five different time points during 24 consecutive hours: (1) at personal waking time, (2) 30 min after awakening, (3) 45 min after awakening, (4) at 16.00 o’clock, and (5) at bedtime.

  • Saliva collection was on the Friday prior to light therapy (start day Monday) and the Friday after completion of light therapy (finish day was Thursday).

  • After sample collection, saliva samples were stored in the refrigerator and mailed to the lab via post where the samples were stored in a freezer at a -80 °C until processing.

  • Cortisol values (nmol/L) were determined using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Method imprecisions were ≤13.9% and lower limits of quantitation were 0.5 nmol/L.

  • Derived variables: cortisol awakening response, diurnal cortisol slope, area under the curve.

  • For further details on the analytical method and performance characteristic, see Supplementary material 2.

Melatonin Salivary melatonin
  • Subsample (n = 60).

  • Collection of five additional saliva samples starting 5 h prior to bedtime followed by one sample every sequential hour.

  • Collection and handling of samples was similar to the procedure described for cortisol. Method imprecisions were ≤11.9% and lower limits of quantitation were 0.01 nmol/L.

  • Derived variables: Dim Light Melatonin Onset (DLMO) based on the hockey-stick method [47].

  • For further details on the analytical method and performance characteristic, see Supplementary material 2.

Note: shading in the table represents the distinction between variables. Abbreviations: CES-D, Center for Epidemiological Studies—depression scale; CWS, Cancer Worry Scale; FCS, Fatigue Catastrophizing Scale; MFI, Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory; nmol/L, nanomoles per liter; PSQI, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index; RAND-36, medical outcome studies short form; SES-28, self-efficacy scale 28; STAI-6, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (6); VAS, visual analogue scale; WSAS, Work and Social Adjustment Scale.