the relationship between fatigue and mental health in chemical warfare victims with bronchiolitis obliterans

the relationship between fatigue and mental health in chemical warfare victims with bronchiolitis obliterans     abbasi s [1] , mehdizadeh s [2] *, moqaddam m [3]     received: 8 mar, 2013 accepted: 10 may, 2013    abstract  background & aims : fatigue is one of the most debilitating symptoms in patients with respiratory disorders. in addition, among the chronic disease, lung disease have the highest prevalence of mental disorders. this study was applied to assess the relationship between fatigue and mental health in chemical victims with bronchiolitis obliterans.  materials & methods : in this descriptive cross-sectional study, 93 chemical warfare victims with bronchiolitis obliterans were selected who referred to respiratory clinic of baqyatallah hospital. fatigue and mental health were measured by fatigue severity scale (fss) and general health questionnaire (ghq-12). the collected data were analyzed by using spss statically software.  result : the majority of subjects (80/6%) were suffering from severe fatigue. 77.4% of them did not have desirable mental health. there was a significant relationship between fatigue and mental health (p<0.0001).  conclusion: fatigue and poor mental health status in the study population suggested more attention to the methods of controlling these two variables in order to achieve health promotion and to improve quality of life in chemical warfare victims.   keywords: fatigue, mental health, chemicals warfare victims, bronchiolitis obliterans    address : faculty of nursing and midwifery, zanjan university of medical sciences, zanjan, iran   tel: (+98) 241 7270909,fax: (+98) 241 7270305   email: [email protected]   [1] ms in nursing, nursing and midwifery zanjan university of medical sciences, department of pediatric nursing  [2] ms in nursing, nursing and midwifery zanjan university of medical sciences ,department of community health nursing (corresponding author)  [3] ms in nursing, nursing and midwifery zanjan university of medical sciences ,department of community health nursing