Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale

About

Fatigue is a very common symptom in older adults and is strongly associated with disability and mortality, but studying fatigue is difficult because of its subjective, qualitative nature. Characterizing fatigability allows us to describe one’s susceptibility to experiencing fatigue in the context of a quantifiable demand at a fixed intensity and duration. We recognized a gap in knowledge that no single tool existed to measure perceived fatigability in older adults. It was important to develop a validated paper-and-pencil test as an alternative for epidemiologic research because performance measures:

  1. Are costly and time consuming.
  2. Have requirements of in person visits, dedicated space and staff – not always practical for many research and clinical settings.
  3. Cannot be administered to very old and frail adults unable to do physical performance testing.

In 2011, Nancy W. Glynn pioneered work to design and validate the Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale (PFS, Copyright 2014, University of Pittsburgh). The PFS is a 10-item, self-administered questionnaire that assesses self-report whole-body physical and mental tiredness related to activities of fixed intensity and duration in adults age ≥60. The PFS improves upon and overcomes deficiencies in existing self-report fatigue tools by anchoring fatigue to set demand activities. This is especially important when studying older adults, who in an effort to reduce or avoid fatigue may modify their exertion (self-pace) to maintain a tolerable effort. Funding for this seminal research was secured from a Pittsburgh Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center Developmental Pilot Grant (P30 AG024826) and NIH Intramural Research Program support.

Request to Use

Use of the Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale for any purpose must be approved by the scale developer, Dr. Glynn. Please download, complete and email this form to epidnwg@pitt.edu to request permission to use the PFS for research or commercial use. A licensing agreement may be needed. 

The PFS may only be used free of charge for non-commercial education and research purposes. After completing and submitting the form above, if you would like to use the PFS instrument for commercial purposes or for commercially sponsored research, please also contact the Office of Technology Management at the University of Pittsburgh at 412-648-2206 for licensing information. 

Available Languages

  • Arabic
  • Catalan
  • Chinese (Mainland)
  • Chinese (Traditional)
  • Danish
  • Dutch
  • English (Caribbean)
  • English (UK)
  • English (US)
  • French
  • German
  • Hebrew
  • Hindi (India)
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Portuguese
  • Spanish (Spain)
  • Spanish (US)
  • Telegu (India)

*The PFS can be translated into additional languages with approval from the University of Pittsburgh. Please use the form at the bottom of the page to get the process started.

Tools/Materials

To request use of the original PFS, it's translations, and additional materials, please download, complete and email this form to epidnwg@pitt.edu. A licensing agreement may be needed. 

Selected Studies using the PFS

  • Study of Muscle, Mobility and Aging (SOMMA)
  • Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA)
  • Long Life Family Study
  • The Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS)
  • MRC National Survey of Health and Development- 1946 British Cohort
  • Danish Healthy Ageing Network of Competences (HANC) Study
  • Mobility and Independent Living in Elders (MILES) Study
  • International Study of Elders in Rural India
  • Stony Brook University World Trade Center Health Program
  • SITLESS Study
  • ENRGISE Study
  • Effect of Thyroid Hormone Replacement on Fatigability in Untreated Older Adults with Subclinical Hypothyroidism (TRUST FATIGUE) Study
  • Nitrite Benefits to Mediate Fatigability in Older Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction Patients study and the Mobility & Vitality Lifestyle Program

Selected Publications

Validation studies

Key papers lead/co-authored by Glynn group

Copyright 2014, University of Pittsburgh. All rights reserved. Developed by Glynn NW, Santanasto AJ, Simonsick EM, Boudreau R M, Beach SR, Schulz R, Newman AB of the University of Pittsburgh using National Institute of Health Funding.

Glynn NW, Santanasto AJ, Simonsick EM, Boudreau RM, Beach SR, Schulz R. Newman AB.: J Am Geriatr Soc. 2015. Jan;63(1): 130-5.