Assessment of Fatigue and Associated Factors in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Questionnaire-Based Study

Although fatigue is common in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), it often goes unrecognized and untreated. We investigated the degree of fatigue and associated factors in patients with IBD. A multicenter study involving 147 IBD patients was conducted at five academic hospitals from August 2019 to December 2021. Fatigue was evaluated using the validated Korean version of the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-K). Among 97 ulcerative colitis patients and 50 Crohn's disease patients, the mean total MFI-K score was 59.0 ± 5.5, which corresponded to a moderate-to-severe level of fatigue. Moderate-to-severe disease activity was found to be significantly associated with a higher general and physical fatigue subscale MFI-K score compared to remission-to-mild disease activity (17.6 ± 1.7 vs. 16.7 ± 2.0, p = 0.009), while the use of biologics was associated with a lower total MFI-K score (57.3 ± 5.0 vs. 59.5 ± 5.5, p = 0.031). In multiple linear regression, the total MFI-K score was positively correlated with a history of surgery for IBD, while it was negatively correlated with the use of biologics. Depression was positively correlated with the reduced motivation subscale score. The degree of fatigue in patients with IBD was high. Disease activity, the use of biologics, a history of surgery for IBD, and depression were associated with fatigue.