News in ITP: Studying Fatigue in Long-Term ITP
A poster, presented at the European Hematology Association meeting in June, described a study that looked at tiredness (fatigue) in adults with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). Researchers wanted to see if fatigue was related to bleeding or other health test results.
What They Did
Adults with long-term ITP took surveys about:
How tired they felt;
How fatigue affected their daily lives;
Their quality of life;
How much bleeding they had.
Researchers also looked at blood test results and other health information.
What They Found
97 people took part in the study;
The average age was 54 years old;
About 65% were women;
Most had been living with ITP for about 10 years;
Most were receiving treatment for ITP;
Most had platelet counts and other blood test results that were in a normal or healthy range;
Bleeding was very low in most patients.
Even though many patients had good test results and little bleeding:
The average fatigue score showed that many people still felt tired;
About 1 in 4 patients reported severe fatigue;
Half of the patients reported at least moderate fatigue.
Fatigue was strongly linked to:
Feeling physically tired because of ITP or its treatment;
Emotional and mental health challenges.
Fatigue was not linked to iron levels or other iron-related blood tests.
Conclusion
Many people with ITP still experience significant fatigue, even when their platelet counts are good and they are not bleeding much. More research is needed to understand why fatigue happens and how to treat it better.
If you want to know how severe your fatigue is, you can take the same survey used in the study on our HealthStory AI app. If you take it several times, the app will summarize your scores for you and give you insights about your fatigue.
Source:
Poster presentation in Platelet Disorders during EHA2026: June 11, 2026, 08:00 CEST. Abstract: EHA-3121 Short: PF1348, Title: FATIGUE IN ADULTS WITH IMMUNE THROMBOCYTOPENIA (ITP): A CROSS-SECTIONAL OBSERVATIONAL STUDY.
