Gunilla Östlund ^{A1, A3}, Kristian Borg ^{A1, A3}, Åke Wahlin ^{A2, A4
A1} Department of Public Health Science, Karolinska Institutet
^A2 Stockholm Gerontology Research Centre and Division of Geriatric Epidemiology, Karolinska Institutet
^A3 Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at, Huddinge University Hospital
^A4 Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
DOI: 10.1080/16501970410024172

Objective and design: This study examined 2 main hypotheses. First, whether patients with post-polio suffering from general fatigue (n =10) demonstrate cognitive deficits compared with patients with post-polio without general fatigue (n =10). Secondly, by systematically varied test order administration we examined whether such differences varied as a function of increasing cognitive load during cognitive testing. Subjects: Twenty patients diagnosed with post-polio syndrome, 10 with general fatigue and 10 without fatigue. Results: Neither of the 2 hypotheses were confirmed. The group with general fatigue reported elevated levels of depression. However, no systematic association between level of depression and cognitive performance could be detected. Conclusion: The results of this study provide no evidence that general fatigue or cognitive load affects cognitive functioning in post-polio.