Abstract: Fatigue In Adult Coeliac Disease

Abstract: Fatigue In Adult Coeliac Disease.

September 2005

Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2005 Sep 1;22(5):489-94. Related Articles, Links

Siniscalchi M, Iovino P, Tortora R, Forestiero S, Somma A, Capuano L, Franzese MD, Sabbatini F, Ciacci C.

Gastrointestinal Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Federico II University of Naples, Italy.

Background : Fatigue is reported by many adults at the moment of diagnosis of coeliac disease and during follow-up.

Aim : To evaluate the prevalence, characteristics and associations of fatigue in adult coeliac disease patients.

Methods : The investigated sample comprised adults from Campania, Italy.

A total of 130 coeliac disease patients were consecutively recruited in both treated (59 on gluten-free diet) and untreated conditions (71 on normal diet).

The control group was made up of 80 healthy controls.

Coeliac disease patients and healthy controls underwent laboratory tests, a set of questionnaires for studying fatigue: visual analogue scale for fatigue, chronic fatigue syndrome questionnaire, fatigue severity scale and a modified version of the Zung self-rating depression scale.

Results : Coeliac disease patients showed a significantly lower body mass index than controls (P = 0.0001), lower serum iron (P = 0.04).

The entire cohort of coeliac disease patients reported greater modified version of the Zung self-rating depression scale score (P = 0.001), greater visual analogue scale for fatigue score (P = 0.0001) and greater chronic fatigue syndrome questionnaire score (P = 0.0001) compared with healthy controls.

Coeliac disease patients on a gluten-free diet had a significantly higher modified version of the Zung self-rating depression scale score than coeliacs on a normal diet (P = 0.001).

The prevalence of pathological modified version of the Zung self-rating depression scale score was 17% in all coeliac disease patients and 0% in healthy controls.

A significant correlation was found between modified version of the Zung self-rating depression scale score and fatigue scale scores in coeliacs on a normal diet.

Presence/absence of gastrointestinal symptoms did not show any significant correlation with modified version of the Zung self-rating depression scale score and fatigue scale scores.

In coeliacs on a gluten-free diet, modified version of the Zung self-rating depression scale and fatigue scales scores did not significantly differ from coeliacs on a normal diet and were not related to dietetic compliance.

Conclusion : In coeliacs, fatigue is a common finding, which ameliorates with the gluten-free diet and is strictly correlated to depression although coeliacs on a gluten-free diet showed more frequent and more severe depression symptoms than coeliacs on a normal diet.

Source: PMID: 16128688 [PubMed - in process]

Category: Fatigue in adult coeliac disease, Siniscalchi, Iovino, Tortora, Forestiero, Somma, Capuano, Franzese, Sabbatini, Ciacci

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