Fatigue in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Results from a Prospective Inception Cohort, the IBSEN III Study

Abstract Background and Aims Although fatigue is common in inflammatory bowel disease [IBD], its pathogenesis remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of fatigue and its associated factors in a cohort of patients newly diagnosed with IBD. Methods Patients ≥18 years old were recruited from the Inflammatory Bowel Disease South-Eastern Norway [IBSEN III] study, a population-based, observational inception cohort. Fatigue was assessed using the Fatigue Questionnaire and compared with data from a Norwegian general population. Univariate and multivariate linear and logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the associations of total fatigue [TF; continuous score] and substantial fatigue [SF; dichotomized score ≥4] with sociodemographic, clinical, endoscopic, laboratory, and other relevant patient data. Results In total, 983/1509 [65.1%] patients with complete fatigue data were included (ulcerative colitis [UC], 68.2%; Crohn’s disease [CD], 31.8%). The prevalence of SF was higher in CD [69.6%] compared with UC [60.2%] [p