scholarly journals Leveraging Walking Performance to Understand Work Fatigue Among Young Adults: Mixed-Methods Study

10.2196/16376 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. e16376
Author(s):  
Xinghui Yan ◽  
Pei-Luen Patrick Rau ◽  
Runting Zhong

Background Work fatigue negatively impacts personal health in the long term. Prior research has indicated the possibility of leveraging both walking parameters and perceptual measures to assess a person’s fatigue status. However, an effective and ubiquitous approach to assessing work fatigue in young adults remains unexplored. Objective The goals of this paper were to (1) explore how walking rhythms and multiple streams of data, including reaction time, self-reports, and an activity diary, reflect work-induced fatigue in the lab setting; (2) identify the relationship between objective performance and subjective perception in indicating fatigue status and fatigability; and (3) propose a mobile-based assessment for work-induced fatigue that uses multiple measurements. Methods We conducted a 2-day in-lab study to measure participants’ fatigue status using multiple measurements, including the stair climb test (SCT), the 6-minute walk test (6MWT), and the reaction time test. Both the SCT and the 6MWT were conducted at different points in time and under 2 conditions (measurement time, including prior to and after work, and pace, including normal and fast). Participants reported their fatigue perception through questionnaires completed before conducting walking tests and in an activity diary recorded over a week. Walking performance data were collected by a smartphone with a built-in 3-axis accelerometer. To examine the effect of fatigability on walking performance, we first clustered participants into 2 groups based on their reported mental fatigue level in the entry surveys and then compared their walking performance using a generalized linear model (GLM). The reaction time was examined using a 2-way repeated-measures GLM. We conducted semistructured interviews to understand participants’ fatigue perception after each day’s walking tests. Results All participants (N=26; mean age 24.68 years) were divided into 2 groups—the fatigue-sensitive group (11/26, 42%) and the fatigue-nonsensitive group (15/26, 58%)—based on their mental subscores from 3 entry surveys: Fatigue Scale-14, Three-Dimensional Work Fatigue Inventory, and Fatigue Self-Assessment Scale (FSAS). The fatigue-sensitive group reported a significantly higher FSAS score in the before-work setting (t50=–3.361; P=.001). The fatigue-sensitive group covered fewer steps than the fatigue-nonsensitive group (β1=–0.099; SE 0.019; t1=–5.323; P<.001) and had a higher step-to-step time variability in the 6MWT (β1=9.61 × 10–4; t1=2.329; P=.02). No strong correlation between subjective and objective measurements was observed in the study. Conclusions Walking parameters, including step counts and step-to-step time variability, and some selected scales (eg, FSAS) were found to reflect participants’ work-induced fatigue. Overall, our work suggests the opportunity of employing mobile-based walking measurements to indicate work fatigue among young adults.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinghui Yan ◽  
Pei-Luen Patrick Rau ◽  
Runting Zhong

BACKGROUND Work fatigue negatively impacts personal health in the long term. Prior research has indicated the possibility of leveraging both walking parameters and perceptual measures to assess a person’s fatigue status. However, an effective and ubiquitous approach to assessing work fatigue in young adults remains unexplored. OBJECTIVE The goals of this paper were to (1) explore how walking rhythms and multiple streams of data, including reaction time, self-reports, and an activity diary, reflect work-induced fatigue in the lab setting; (2) identify the relationship between objective performance and subjective perception in indicating fatigue status and fatigability; and (3) propose a mobile-based assessment for work-induced fatigue that uses multiple measurements. METHODS We conducted a 2-day in-lab study to measure participants’ fatigue status using multiple measurements, including the stair climb test (SCT), the 6-minute walk test (6MWT), and the reaction time test. Both the SCT and the 6MWT were conducted at different points in time and under 2 conditions (measurement time, including prior to and after work, and pace, including normal and fast). Participants reported their fatigue perception through questionnaires completed before conducting walking tests and in an activity diary recorded over a week. Walking performance data were collected by a smartphone with a built-in 3-axis accelerometer. To examine the effect of fatigability on walking performance, we first clustered participants into 2 groups based on their reported mental fatigue level in the entry surveys and then compared their walking performance using a generalized linear model (GLM). The reaction time was examined using a 2-way repeated-measures GLM. We conducted semistructured interviews to understand participants’ fatigue perception after each day’s walking tests. RESULTS All participants (N=26; mean age 24.68 years) were divided into 2 groups—the fatigue-sensitive group (11/26, 42%) and the fatigue-nonsensitive group (15/26, 58%)—based on their mental subscores from 3 entry surveys: Fatigue Scale-14, Three-Dimensional Work Fatigue Inventory, and Fatigue Self-Assessment Scale (FSAS). The fatigue-sensitive group reported a significantly higher FSAS score in the before-work setting (t<sub>50</sub>=–3.361; <i>P</i>=.001). The fatigue-sensitive group covered fewer steps than the fatigue-nonsensitive group (β<sub>1</sub>=–0.099; SE 0.019; <i>t</i><sub>1</sub>=–5.323; <i>P</i>&lt;.001) and had a higher step-to-step time variability in the 6MWT (β<sub>1</sub>=9.61 × 10<sup>–4</sup>; <i>t</i><sub>1</sub>=2.329; <i>P</i>=.02). No strong correlation between subjective and objective measurements was observed in the study. CONCLUSIONS Walking parameters, including step counts and step-to-step time variability, and some selected scales (eg, FSAS) were found to reflect participants’ work-induced fatigue. Overall, our work suggests the opportunity of employing mobile-based walking measurements to indicate work fatigue among young adults.


2020 ◽  
pp. 108705471989781
Author(s):  
Orrie Dan ◽  
Ami Cohen ◽  
Kfir Asraf ◽  
Ivgeny Saveliev ◽  
Iris Haimov

Objective: To identify the impact of sleep deprivation on functioning of young adults with or without ADHD on a continuous performance attention task. Method: Thirty-four men ( M age = 25.38) with ( n = 16) or without ( n = 18) ADHD completed a continuous performance task before and after 25 hr of sustained wakefulness in a controlled environment. Results: In both groups, sleep deprivation caused a decline in performance on all variables: omission errors, commission errors, reaction time, and reaction time variability. In addition, the ADHD group made more omission and commission errors, and had greater reaction time variability. Conclusion: Sleep deprivation has a detrimental effect on attention functioning among young adults. In addition, although young adults with ADHD generally perform worse on continuous performance tasks than young adults without ADHD, the groups are similarly affected by sleep deprivation.


2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 130-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hagen C. Flehmig ◽  
Michael B. Steinborn ◽  
Karl Westhoff ◽  
Robert Langner

Previous research suggests a relationship between neuroticism (N) and the speed-accuracy tradeoff in speeded performance: High-N individuals were observed performing less efficiently than low-N individuals and compensatorily overemphasizing response speed at the expense of accuracy. This study examined N-related performance differences in the serial mental addition and comparison task (SMACT) in 99 individuals, comparing several performance measures (i.e., response speed, accuracy, and variability), retest reliability, and practice effects. N was negatively correlated with mean reaction time but positively correlated with error percentage, indicating that high-N individuals tended to be faster but less accurate in their performance than low-N individuals. The strengthening of the relationship after practice demonstrated the reliability of the findings. There was, however, no relationship between N and distractibility (assessed via measures of reaction time variability). Our main findings are in line with the processing efficiency theory, extending the relationship between N and working style to sustained self-paced speeded mental addition.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabella Vainieri ◽  
Joanna Martin ◽  
Anna-Sophie Rommel ◽  
Philip Asherson ◽  
Tobias Banaschewski ◽  
...  

Abstract Background A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified 12 independent loci significantly associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Polygenic risk scores (PRS), derived from the GWAS, can be used to assess genetic overlap between ADHD and other traits. Using ADHD samples from several international sites, we derived PRS for ADHD from the recent GWAS to test whether genetic variants that contribute to ADHD also influence two cognitive functions that show strong association with ADHD: attention regulation and response inhibition, captured by reaction time variability (RTV) and commission errors (CE). Methods The discovery GWAS included 19 099 ADHD cases and 34 194 control participants. The combined target sample included 845 people with ADHD (age: 8–40 years). RTV and CE were available from reaction time and response inhibition tasks. ADHD PRS were calculated from the GWAS using a leave-one-study-out approach. Regression analyses were run to investigate whether ADHD PRS were associated with CE and RTV. Results across sites were combined via random effect meta-analyses. Results When combining the studies in meta-analyses, results were significant for RTV (R2 = 0.011, β = 0.088, p = 0.02) but not for CE (R2 = 0.011, β = 0.013, p = 0.732). No significant association was found between ADHD PRS and RTV or CE in any sample individually (p > 0.10). Conclusions We detected a significant association between PRS for ADHD and RTV (but not CE) in individuals with ADHD, suggesting that common genetic risk variants for ADHD influence attention regulation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bartosz Helfer ◽  
Stefanos Maltezos ◽  
Elizabeth Liddle ◽  
Jonna Kuntsi ◽  
Philip Asherson

Abstract Background. We investigated whether adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show pseudoneglect—preferential allocation of attention to the left visual field (LVF) and a resulting slowing of mean reaction times (MRTs) in the right visual field (RVF), characteristic of neurotypical (NT) individuals —and whether lateralization of attention is modulated by presentation speed and incentives. Method. Fast Task, a four-choice reaction-time task where stimuli were presented in LVF or RVF, was used to investigate differences in MRT and reaction time variability (RTV) in adults with ADHD (n = 43) and NT adults (n = 46) between a slow/no-incentive and fast/incentive condition. In the lateralization analyses, pseudoneglect was assessed based on MRT, which was calculated separately for the LVF and RVF for each condition and each study participant. Results. Adults with ADHD had overall slower MRT and increased RTV relative to NT. MRT and RTV improved under the fast/incentive condition. Both groups showed RVF-slowing with no between-group or between-conditions differences in RVF-slowing. Conclusion. Adults with ADHD exhibited pseudoneglect, a NT pattern of lateralization of attention, which was not attenuated by presentation speed and incentives.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Adam J. Wells ◽  
Bri-ana D.I. Johnson

Context: The Dynavision D2™ Mode A test (ModeA) is a 1-minute reaction time (RT) test commonly used in sports science research and clinical rehabilitation. However, there is limited data regarding the effect of repeated testing (ie, training) or subsequent periods of no testing (ie, detraining) on test–retest reliability and RT performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the test–retest reliability, training, and detraining effects associated with the D2™ ModeA test. Design: Repeated measures/reliability. Methods: Twenty-four recreationally active men and women completed 15 training sessions consisting of 2 ModeA tests per session (30 tests). The participants were then randomized to either 1 or 2 weeks of detraining prior to completing 15 retraining sessions (30 tests). The training and retraining periods were separated into 10 blocks for analysis (3 tests per block). The number of hits (hits) and the average RT per hit (AvgRT) within each block were used to determine RT performance. Intraclass correlation coefficients, SEM, and minimum difference were used to determine reliability. Repeated-measures analysis of variance/analysis of covariance were used to determine training and detraining effects, respectively. Results: The ModeA variables demonstrated excellent test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient2,3 > .93). Significant improvements in hits and AvgRT were noted within training blocks 1 to 5 (P < .05). No further improvements in RT performance were noted between training blocks 6 through 10. There was no effect of detraining period on RT. The RT performance was not different between blocks during retraining. Conclusions: It appears that 15 tests are necessary to overcome the training effect and establish reliable baseline performance for the ModeA test. Detraining for 1 to 2 weeks did not impact RT performance. The authors recommend that investigators and clinicians utilize the average of 3 tests when assessing RT performance using the D2 ModeA test.


2019 ◽  
Vol 184 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 593-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D Reddix ◽  
Matthew E Funke ◽  
Micah J Kinney ◽  
John L Bradley ◽  
Greg Irvin ◽  
...  

Abstract Prototype low-intensity threat laser eye protection (LIT-LEP) spectacles were evaluated for US Coast Guard (USCG) cockpits and night vision goggle compatibility. The impetus for interest in aviation LIT-LEP is driven in part by the fact that easily accessible 0.5–2.0 W high-power laser pointers exceed safety standards for direct on-axis viewing. A repeated-measures experimental design was used to assess LIT-LEP performance relative to a no-LEP control for the following tasks: Near- and far contrast acuity, night vision goggle far-contrast acuity, emissive and non-emissive light source color-vision screening, and USCG multifunctional display color symbol discrimination reaction time and accuracy. Near- and far-contrast acuity results demonstrated good LIT-LEP performance for typical in- and out-of-cockpit lighting conditions. Night vision goggle performance suffered marginally at only one contrast level (85%; 20/30 acuity line). Color vision test results showed good color balance in that S-, M-, and L-cone performance did not demonstrate a clinical diagnostic color defect for emissive or non-emissive light sources when wearing LIT-LEP. Color symbol discrimination reaction-time-task results based on inverse efficiency scores revealed that some non-primary flight display colors exhibited a combination of slower speed and decreased accuracy. The findings will contribute to an acquisition decision as well as guide future LEP designs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 431-444
Author(s):  
Sousan Salehi ◽  
◽  
Ahmad Reza Khatoonabadi ◽  
Mahmoud Reza Ashrafi ◽  
Ghasem Mohammadkhani ◽  
...  

Objectives: Stuttering and phonological processing are mutually related. Emotion is an effective factor in fluency and language processing; however, its underlying neural mechanism remains unclear. Event-Related Potential (ERP) is a non-invasive highly-beneficial method with high time resolution for language processing. The present study aimed to explore phonological processing in emotional words in Children Who Stutter (CWS), compared to Typically-Developing Children (TDC). Methods: Ten Persian-speaking CWS (3 girls, 7 boys), aged 7-10 years (Mean±SD = 8.9±0.11) and 10 TDC who are matched in age (Mean±SD = 8.7±0.12) and gender were given 120 emotional words (high-valence low-valence) and neutral words to read. Phonological processing was measured by the aloud reading task, while ERP was simultaneously recorded. The collected results were analyzed as behavioral (reaction time and reading accuracy) and electrophysiological (amplitude and topography). Repeated-measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Independent Samples t-test were used for between-group comparisons. Results: The obtained behavioral data included Reaction Time (RT) and accuracy. There were no significant differences between the explored CWS and TDC in RT and accuracy (P>0.05). The mean value of amplitudes presented significant differences between CWS and TDC in language processing areas (P<0.05). The collected results indicated higher mean values of amplitude for neutral words. The distribution highly differed between the investigated CWS and TDC in neutral and negative words. However, there were similarities in positive words in distribution between the study groups. Discussion: The studied CWS and TDC were similar concerning behavioral results. High-valence words in the CWS group presented a higher similar distribution, compared to the TDC groups; however, low-valence words in the explored CWS had a more similar amplitude to the TDC group for neutral words. Then, emotional content facilitated phonological processing in the investigated CWS in the given time range.


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