Subjective cognitive complaints in patients with stress-related fatigue: a cross-sectional study
Our findings highlight the high burden of cognitive problems experienced by patients with malaise disorder, especially in tasks that are demanding for executives without external cognitive support. From a clinical perspective, performance on SCC and objective cognitive tests may measure different aspects of cognitive functioning, and external cognitive assistance may have value in stress rehabilitation.
Nelson, A., Gavelin, HM, Boraxbekk, CJ. etal. Subjective cognitive complaints in patients with stress-related malaise: a cross-sectional study. BMC Psychol 9, 84 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-021-00576-9
Commentary
This study was designed to investigate the relationship between malaise and cognitive function. It was a cross-sectional comparison of a group of patients with stress-related malaise (n = 103, women = 88) and matched healthy controls (n = 58, women = 47) regarding the type and magnitude of self-reported SCC. They then investigated the relationship between performance and self-reported levels of depression, anxiety, and burnout.
The results showed that patients reported significantly more cognitive impairment and were more likely to report expressing memory impairment than controls. In both groups, it was noted that SCC was related to demographic and psychological factors, and not to performance on cognitive tests.
However, there were several limitations to the results of this study. One is that the cross-sectional design does not allow for drawing causal inferences or analyzing changes over time. Second, while the groups were consistent and similar in some important aspects, some differences were not controlled for.
In summary, the malaise sufferers felt cognitively impaired, but when they tried to objectively assess them, some tools detected them correctly, while others did not. The key to the study's findings is that people in these categories report psychological distress.
