Greater Fatigue and Reduced Neurocognitive Speed With Symptomatic Crohn's Disease

Brittaney Bonhomme; Neilanjan Nandi; Shivali Berera; Helen Lee; Galen Leung; Chung Sang Tse; Alexandra Weiss; Lisa Nessel; Yue Ren; Hongzhe Li; Faten N Aberra; James D Lewis

doi:10.1093/crocol/otae069

Greater Fatigue and Reduced Neurocognitive Speed With Symptomatic Crohn's Disease

Crohns Colitis 360. 2024 Dec 23;7(1):otae069. doi: 10.1093/crocol/otae069. eCollection 2025 Jan.

Authors

Brittaney Bonhomme¹, Neilanjan Nandi², Shivali Berera², Helen Lee², Galen Leung², Chung Sang Tse², Alexandra Weiss², Lisa Nessel¹, Yue Ren³, Hongzhe Li^{1

3}, Faten N Aberra², James D Lewis^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
² Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
³ Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Abstract

Background: While patients with Crohn's disease commonly report fatigue, an association of Crohn's disease with mild neurocognitive impairment has also been suggested. This study investigated the relationship between Crohn's disease activity, fatigue, and neurocognitive functioning.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, adults with Crohn's disease (n = 25) and healthy controls (n = 26) completed the PROMIS Fatigue 7a form and Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory and neurocognitive testing across 6 domains. Symptomatic and endoscopic remission were assessed with a short Crohn's Disease Activity Index and Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn's Disease. Linear regression adjusting for age and sex was used to compare fatigue and neurocognition among patients with Crohn's disease versus controls and those with active Crohn's disease versus those in remission.

Results: Compared to controls, adults with Crohn's disease reported greater overall and domain-specific fatigue (general, physical, and mental) (P < .05 for all comparisons). Patients in symptomatic remission had significantly less fatigue (P < .05). No differences were found in neurocognitive accuracy or speed between Crohn's disease and controls. Disease activity was not associated with accuracy on neurocognitive testing; however, patients with symptomatic Crohn's disease had longer correct response times for social cognition and episodic memory compared to asymptomatic patients (P < .05). Endoscopic disease activity was associated with longer correct response times for tasks linked to social cognition, episodic memory, and complex cognition (P < .05). These differences persisted after adjusting for fatigue.

Conclusions: Patients with symptomatic Crohn's disease experience greater fatigue and have slower response times on neurocognitive testing. However, fatigue does not appear to mediate the slower response times.

Keywords: Crohn’s disease; cognitive function; fatigue; memory.