Assessing fatigue and level of vitamin B1 (thiamine) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract Background Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, are affecting millions of people around the world with an increasing incidence. Fatigue is an exhausting and highly relevant symptom in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. This study was aimed to investigate the influence of disease activity, paraclinical findings, and level of vitamin B1 on fatigue in patients with IBD. A cross-sectional study including questionnaires was performed on patients with IBD in Gastroenterology Clinic No. 1 in Targu Mures. Additionally, demographic data, laboratory data, IBD history, treatment, and current disease activity were recorded. The blood samples of patients were analyses for level of B1 vitamin. Fatigue severity was assessed using FACIT-F score, a fatigue scale. Results A total of 41 patients with IBD were enrolled (43.9% with Crohn’s disease and 56.1% with ulcerative colitis). Fatigue was reported by 41.5% of patients, and 21.95% declared to experience severe fatigue. Thiamine level was not associated with the presence of fatigue. Female sex was associated with the presence of fatigue ( p = 0.005 ). Positive significant correlations were demonstrated between FACIT-F score and level of hemoglobin and ( p = 0.006 , r = 0.58 ), hematocrit level ( p = 0.0031 , r = 0.45 ), albumin ( p = 0.01 , r = 0.366 ), and total proteins ( p = 0.033 , r = 0.330 ). Conclusion Fatigue was identified at almost half of patients with IBD. The plasma level of thiamine in IBD patients was normal, regardless of the presence of fatigue. Fatigue was positively correlated with female sex, active disease, level of hemoglobin, and albumin.