Physical activity and fatigue in adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD): a systematic review

Shellie J Radford,Helen Janiszewski,Gordon W Moran

doi:10.12968/gasn.2019.17.9.16

Shellie J Radford, Helen Janiszewski + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.12968/gasn.2019.17.9.16

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Abstract

Background: Fatigue is frequently reported in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In IBD patients, physical activity levels have been shown to have an impact on, and be impacted by, disease activity. Yet, to date, there have been no systematic reviews considering the impact of physical activity on levels of IBD fatigue. This study aims to investigate whether physical activity has the potential to improve levels of IBD fatigue in adults with IBD. Methods: Systematic database search (CINAHL, Embase, PsychInfo, PsycARTICLES, AMED, Medline) and hand searching were conducted on 3 March 2019. Searches were restricted to ‘human’, ‘adult’, ‘primary research’ and ‘English language’ publications. No time limit was set. Quality appraisal and data extraction was undertaken by at least two reviewers. Results: The searches yielded 32 publications; two studies were included in the review. Physical activity was found to be inhibited by higher fatigue levels, lowering health-related quality of life (HRQoL), but also as a means of reducing fatigue, subsequently improving HRQoL. Conclusion: Results identified relationships between IBD fatigue and physical activity. However, further research is warranted, as exploring this information would allow better understanding of IBD fatigue and inform future work on possible fatigue interventions in IBD.

Highlights

Fatigue is one of the most frequently experienced symptoms of patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), and patients report is has some of the largest impact on daily life.[1]
Aim: The aim of this review is to explore the current body of knowledge of what kind of physical activity interventions are available to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) fatigue
Full text publications were excluded if there was no reference to the interaction between physical activity and IBD fatigue throughout the text

Summary

Introduction

Fatigue is one of the most frequently experienced symptoms of patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), and patients report is has some of the largest impact on daily life.[1] The prevalence of IBD fatigue is reported as 41-48% for patients in remission and 71-86% in patients with active disease.2,3It has been identified as one of the leading concerns of IBD patients.[4,5,6,7,8] Recently, the symptom of fatigue has received greater attention as part of overall health-related quality of life (HRQoL) assessments in patients with Long Term Conditions (LTCs), including IBD.[9,10] IBD has been shown to have an impact on, and be impacted by, physical activity levels in IBD patients,[11,12] Yet, to date, there have been no systematic reviews considering the impact of physical activity on levels of IBD fatigue. IBD has been shown to have an impact on, and be impacted by, physical activity levels in IBD patients, Yet, to date, there have been no systematic reviews considering the impact of physical activity on levels of IBD fatigue

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