Abstract

Abstract Background Fatigue is a frequent symptom among patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). While the recent STRIDE II international guidelines consider disability-free and normal quality of life as therapeutic targets, the degree of endoscopic healing required to limit fatigue is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of fatigue and its determinants in a cohort of IBD patients with endoscopic healing. Methods We conducted a single-center cross-sectional study between January 2019 and June 2023. All consecutive IBD patients with endoscopic healing Crohn's disease (CD, CDEIS <4) and ulcerative colitis (UC, Mayo ≤ 1) were assessed for disability (IBD-disk) the day of the colonoscopy. Fatigue and severe fatigue were defined by an IBD-Disk energy subscore >5 and >7, respectively. Results 166 patients were included, of whom 64% (107/166) had CD. The majority of patients were treated with anti-TNF (91/166, 55%), half of them in combination therapy (44/166). The prevalence of fatigue and severe fatigue were 39% (65/166) and 23.5% (39/166) respectively, with no significant difference between CD and UC (p=0.59). The prevalence of fatigue in patient with partial endoscopic healing (Mayo 1 and CDEIS>0 and <4)) and with complete healing (Mayo 0, CDEIS 0) was 44.4% (24/54) and 36.6% (41/112) p =0.424.In multivariate analysis, factors associated with fatigue were female gender (OR=4.2, [1.1; 16.5], p= 0.040), presence of joint pain (OR=4.36, [1.0; 18.2], p= 0.04), sleep disturbance (OR =26.2, [5.5; 124.4], p <0.0001). Younger age (OR=0.95, [0.9; 0.99], p= 0.023) was associated with a significantly lower risk of fatigue. In multivariate analysis, severe fatigue was associated with female gender (OR=3.2, [1.1; 9.2], p= 0.026), the presence of joint pain (OR=2.9, [1.1; 8.1], p= 0.037) or sleep disorders (OR =11.3, [3.6; 35.9], p <0.0001). Conclusion One third of IBD patients with endoscopic healing suffer from fatigue. Female gender, arthralgia and especially sleep disorders are risk factors for fatigue. These results argue in favor of a holistic management of IBD patients.

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