Table 1.
Comparison of demographics and patient-reported outcomes among patients with and without fatigue in ulcerative colitis
| No fatigue (N = 818) | Fatigue (N = 239) | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD) | 40.0 (14.7) | 40.4 (15.5) | 0.7096 |
| Sex, n (%) | 0.7132 | ||
| Male | 423 (51.7) | 120 (50.2) | |
| Female | 395 (48.3) | 119 (49.8) | |
| BMI, mean (SD) | 24.5 (3.7) | 24.3 (4.4) | 0.4550 |
| Smoking status, n (%) | 0.5986 | ||
| Current smoker | 82 (10.9) | 23 (10.5) | |
| Ex-smoker | 200 (26.7) | 66 (30.1) | |
| Never smoked | 468 (62.4) | 130 (59.4) | |
| Employment status, n (%) | 0.0149* | ||
| Working full time | 475 (59.7) | 123 (52.6) | |
| Working part time | 74 (9.3) | 15 (6.4) | |
| On long-term sick leave | 11 (1.4) | 11 (4.7) | |
| Homemaker | 54 (6.8) | 20 (8.5) | |
| Student | 79 (9.9) | 29 (12.4) | |
| Retired | 71 (8.9) | 23 (9.8) | |
| Unemployed | 31 (3.9) | 13 (5.6) | |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index, mean (SD) | 0.1 (0.4) | 0.2 (0.6) | 0.0432* |
| Disease severity, n (%) | 0.0001* | ||
| Mild | 429 (52.4) | 110 (46.0) | |
| Moderate | 375 (45.8) | 113 (47.3) | |
| Severe | 14 (1.7) | 16 (6.7) | |
| Remission status, n (%) | 0.0013 | ||
| Not in remission | 325 (39.7) | 125 (52.3) | |
| In remission | 421 (51.5) | 92 (38.5) | |
| In clinical remission (complete mucosal healing and UC-DAI score = 0) | 72 (8.8) | 22 (9.2) | |
| Mayo score | |||
| n | 817 | 238 | |
| Mean (SD) | 4.0 (2.9) | 5.0 (2.9) | < 0.0001* |
| Endoscopic findings, n (%) | < 0.0001* | ||
| Normal or inactive disease | 248 (30.3) | 40 (16.7) | |
| Mild disease (erythema, decreased vascular pattern, mild friability) | 247 (30.2) | 81 (33.9) | |
| Moderate disease (marked erythema, absent vascular pattern, friability, erosions) | 298 (36.4) | 90 (37.7) | |
| Severe disease (spontaneous bleeding, ulceration) | 25 (3.1) | 28 (11.7) | |
| Current symptoms, n (%) | |||
| Rectal urgency | 141 (17.2) | 72 (30.1) | < 0.0001* |
| Abdominal pain | 157 (19.2) | 94 (39.3) | < 0.0001* |
| Vomiting/nausea | 50 (6.1) | 24 (10.0) | 0.0433* |
| Passing of mucus | 117 (14.3) | 44 (18.4) | 0.1254 |
| Constipation | 30 (3.7) | 18 (7.5) | 0.0201* |
| Diarrhea—non-bloody | 223 (27.3) | 93 (38.9) | 0.0007 * |
| Diarrhea—bloody | 205 (25.1) | 73 (30.5) | 0.0952 |
| Needing the toilet shortly after eating | 67 (8.2) | 53 (22.2) | < 0.0001* |
| Rectal bleeding | 115 (14.1) | 56 (23.4) | 0.0009* |
| Abdominal cramps | 210 (25.7) | 92 (38.5) | 0.0002* |
| Bloating in the stomach | 109 (13.3) | 67 (28.0) | < 0.0001* |
| Night sweats | 22 (2.7) | 31 (13.0) | < 0.0001* |
| Weight loss | 33 (4.0) | 45 (18.8) | < 0.0001* |
| Anorexia/malnutrition | 8 (1.0) | 12 (5.0) | 0.0003* |
| Loss of appetite | 37 (4.5) | 34 (14.2) | < 0.0001* |
| Flatulence | 69 (8.4) | 69 (28.9) | < 0.0001* |
| Anemia | 19 (2.3) | 36 (15.1) | < 0.0001* |
| Back pain | 27 (3.3) | 39 (16.3) | < 0.0001* |
| Arthralgia/joint pain | 23 (2.8) | 41 (17.2) | < 0.0001 * |
| Joint swelling | 9 (1.1) | 9 (3.8) | 0.0094* |
| Mouth sores | 2 (0.2) | 6 (2.5) | 0.0023* |
| Level of paina, mean (SD) | 2.7 (2.4) | 3.8 (2.5) | < 0.0001* |
| Level of sleep disturbanceb, mean (SD) | 2.2 (2.1) | 3.7 (2.7) | < 0.0001* |
| SIBDQ | |||
| n | 690 | 203 | |
| Mean (SD) | 54 (11) | 45 (11) | < 0.0001* |
| WPAI, mean % (SD) | |||
| n | 367 | 107 | |
| Overall work impairment | 26.9 (27.9) | 34.4 (29.7) | 0.0170* |
| n | 376 | 111 | |
| Work time missed due to problem | 9.6 (21.4) | 13.9 (30.8) | 0.0918 |
| n | 419 | 120 | |
| Impairment while working due to problem | 20.7 (22.7) | 32.9 (28.8) | < 0.0001* |
| n | 683 | 207 | |
| Activity impairment due to problem | 23.2 (22.0) | 37.7 (27.5) | < 0.0001* |
| Current medication, n (%) | |||
| 5-Aminosalicylic acid | 701 (85.7) | 214 (89.5) | 0.1324 |
| Corticosteroid | 575 (70.3) | 190 (79.5) | 0.0051* |
| Immunomodulator | 391 (47.8) | 133 (55.6) | 0.0333* |
| Biologic | 304 (37.2) | 112 (46.9) | 0.0084* |
UC-DAI Ulcerative Colitis Disease Activity Index, SD standard deviation, SIBDQ Short Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire, WPAI Work Productivity and Activity Impairment
*Statistical significance of α = 0.05
aLevel of pain was measured on a scale from 0 = no pain to 10 = severe pain
bLevel of sleep disturbance was measured on a scale from 0 = no sleep disturbance to 10 = severe sleep disturbance