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Introduction

Fatigue is a common but rarely diagnosed symptom in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The IBD-specific fatigue questionnaire Inflammatory Bowel Disease Fatigue (IBD-F) was validated in German in 2022. It assesses the severity and frequency of fatigue (Section 1) as well as its impact on daily life (Section 2). The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy–Fatigue (FACIT-F) also measures the impact of fatigue on daily life. While the FACIT-F has been validated in English for IBD, it has not yet been validated in German, although it is frequently used in IBD studies.

Aims & Methods

This study compared the IBD-F and FACIT-F in a German-speaking IBD cohort. IBD patients and a healthy control group (HC) completed both the IBD-F and FACIT-F questionnaires. Disease activity in IBD patients was assessed using the partial Mayo Score (pMS for ulcerative colitis; UC) or the Harvey Bradshaw Severity Index (HBSI for Crohn’s disease; CD). Internal consistency was calculated using Cronbach’s α. To assess acceptance, the number of fully completed questionnaires was analyzed. Spearman correlation was used to compare IBD-F and FACIT-F scores in both IBD patients and healthy controls.

Results

A total of 382 IBD patients (CD n = 240; 98 male; age 43.1 ± 13.9; UC n = 142; 72 male; age 43.2 ± 12.6) and 130 healthy controls (HC; 61 male; age 40.2 ± 16.5) participated. 75% (286/382) of the patients reported fatigue in IBD-F Section 1 and were included in further analyses.
Internal consistency was rated as excellent for IBD-F Section 1 (α = 0.930), Section 2 (α = 0.979), and FACIT-F (α = 0.936), as indicated by Cronbach’s alpha. Acceptance decreased with increasing number of items (IBD-F Section 1 94.4%; Section 2 80.1%; FACIT-F 90.9%). A significant negative correlation was observed between the FACIT-F and IBD-F Section 1 in both the IBD group (r_s = -0.751, p < 0.01) and controls (r_s = -0.361, p < 0.01), as well as between the FACIT-F and IBD-F Section 2 (IBD: r_s = -0.862, p < 0.01; HC: r_s = -0.463, p < 0.01).
Patients in remission (59% (168/286)) reported lower fatigue scores in IBD-F Section 1 and 2 and FACIT-F than patients with active disease (36% (104/286)), but higher fatigue scores than HC. HC showed higher fatigue scores in the FACIT-F than in the IBD-F (see Table 1).

Questionnaire	IBD/Controls	N	Mdn (IQR)
IBD-F Section 1 - Total Score	Control IBD - Total - Remission^a - Active disease^a	130 286 168 104	0.0 (2.0) 8.0 (5.0) 6.0 (5.0) 10.0 (6.8)
IBD-F Section 2 - Total Score	Control IBD - Total - Remission^a - Active disease^a	130 286 168 104	0.0 (2.3) 21.0 (28.9) 18.0 (19.0) 30.0 (35.4)
FACIT-F - Total Score	Control IBD - Total - Remission^a - Active disease^a	130 286 168 104	48.0 (7.3) 35.0 (16.7) 37.5 (16.0) 29.6 (19.8)
Mdn = Median; IQR = Interquartile range. ^aDue to missing data, the pMS and the HBSI could not be calculated for 14 patients. Higher scores in Sections 1 and 2 of the IBD-F, as well as lower scores in the FACIT-F, indicate greater fatigue. IBD-F Section 1 Total Score range: 0–20. IBD-F Section 2 Total Score range: 0–120. FACIT-F Total Score range: 0–52.

Table 1: Descriptive statistics of IBD-F and FACIT-F.

Conclusion

Both the IBD-F and FACIT-F are effective tools for assessing fatigue in IBD patients. The IBD-F, however, appears to better distinguish healthy individuals without fatigue.

COMPARISON OF TWO FATIGUE QUESTIONNAIRES FOR PATIENTS WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (IBD)

Sophie Wurm 1, Rosa Rosania 1, Verena Keitel-Anselmino 1, Ulrike von Arnim 1

1 University Hospital Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany

Conference

UEG Week Berlin 2025

Topics

IBD

Submission format

Abstract

Session

IBD (Posters)

Citation

United European Gastroenterology Journal 2025; 13 (Supplement 8)

Published

2025

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