Background: Inflammatory bowel disease is comprised mainly of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. The prevalence of fatigue and its associations with different cofactors vary between studies. The aim of this article is to describe the extent of fatigue in inflammatory bowel disease, the factors that are most commonly associated with fatigue, and its treatment. We will also discuss challenges for future research on fatigue in inflammatory bowel disease.
Method: We conducted literature searches in the Ovid Medline and The Cochrane Library databases using combinations of the keywords «inflammatory bowel diseases», «inflammatory bowel disease*», «IBD», «crohn*», «colitis», «fatigue», «fatigue manage» and «fatigue treat». The search was limited to articles published in the period 2000 – 15.
Results: Of the 156 articles identified, 28 were included in the review. Collectively, the studies used 13 different instruments for measuring fatigue and 11 measures of disease activity. Fatigue occurs more frequently in those who suffer from inflammatory bowel disease (22 – 77 %) than in the general population (2 – 12 %). Active disease and depression are associated with higher levels of fatigue.
Interpretation: Fatigue is a significant problem in inflammatory bowel disease. The use of differing measures of fatigue and of disease activity in heterogeneous study populations has contributed to variability in data on prevalence and possible risk factors.