Exploring Brain Fog, Fatigue, Psychological Distress and the Impact on Quality of Life for Those Living with...

People living with gastroparesis often report experiencing brain fog yet despite this, this phenomenon is lacking research. This study aimed to address this gap by exploring the relationships between gastroparesis symptoms, brain fog, fatigue, psychological distress, and quality of life (QoL).

A cross-sectional online study was conducted. Gastroparesis symptoms were measured by the Upper Gastrointestinal Symptom Severity Index. Participants also completed specific questionnaires for brain fog, fatigue, psychological distress and QoL. Pearson's product-moment correlations and Hayes' process mediation macro were used.

Of the total 114 participants (mean age 40.63 years, 87.7% female, 55.3% idiopathic diagnosis) diagnosed with gastroparesis, 97.3% participants reported experiencing brain fog. The majority of participants (46.8%) reported experiencing brain fog at least once a week, lasting 10.42 hours on average. Gastroparesis symptom severity had a significant positive relationship with brain fog, fatigue and psychological distress, and a significant negative relationship with QoL. Fatigue partially mediated the relationship between gastroparesis symptoms and QoL after controlling for psychological distress, such that symptom severity was associated with higher fatigue and lower QoL. Brain fog however was not a significant mediator in this relationship, suggesting that brain fog is not a pathway through which symptom severity decreases QoL.

This study provides evidence that brain fog is common in people living with gastroparesis. Contributing to the burden associated with the condition, gastroparesis adversely impacts experiences of fatigue, brain fog, psychological distress, and QoL, and informs the recommendation that these variables be screened for as part of gastroparesis management.