Mental Health Factors Associated With Fatigue in Mexican Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Goals: The aim of this study was to describe mental health factors associated with the development of fatigue in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. Background: IBD includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Patients with chronic diseases can present fatigue differently and qualitatively more severely than those typically represented by healthy populations. Study: This was a cross-sectional study in which 200 Mexican patients were attending the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinic at the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition. All patients answered 3 instruments: the first IBD-fatigue, HADS (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), and PSQI (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index). The statistical analysis was carried out in the statistical program SPSS v 24. Results: The percentage of fatigue in our patients was 55.5% (n=111) for mild-moderate fatigue, 31.5% (n=63) for severe fatigue, and only 13% (n=26) had no fatigue. Sleep disturbance and sleep latency were the most important predictors of fatigue in IBD patients. Conclusions: Sleep quality and depression have an impact on fatigue in Mexican patients with IBD. It is important for multidisciplinary management to reduce these symptoms and improve the quality of life of patients with IBD.