The Brugmann Fatigue Scale: An Analogue to the Epworth Sleepiness Scale to Measure Behavioral Rest Propensity

ABSTRACTBackground: While often confused, fatigue (as opposed to sleepiness) mostly requires rest, not sleep, to recover from. Clinical evaluations of fatigue mainly rely on assessments of symptom intensity, however without taking into account the need to engage in behavioral countermeasures. We therefore developed an 8-item 4-point Likert scale (the Brugmann Fatigue Scale; BFS) sharing a similar conceptual background with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), assessing mental and physical fatigue and focusing specifically on rest propensity. Methods: Out of 496 consecutive patients addressed to the sleep unit of an academic hospital, we selected a sample of 295 hypnotic-free subjects (122 females). The present study examines (a) the psychometric properties of the BFS and (b) measurement invariance regarding perceived sleep quality, in parallel with common sleepiness and fatigue scales (ESS and Fatigue Severity Scale; FSS). In addition, (c) correlations of the BFS with clinical scales and polysomnographic v...