Is iron deficiency in the absence of anemia associated with fatigue in inflammatory bowel disease?

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Date
2013-09Author
Goldenberg, Benjamin
Graff, Lesley A.
Clara, Ian
Zarychanski, Ryan
Walker, John R.
Carr, Rachel
Rogala, Linda
Miller, Norine
Bernstein, Charles N.
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Show full item recordAbstract
OBJECTIVES:
We explored whether iron deficiency in the absence of anemia is associated with fatigue in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
METHODS:
We assessed iron deficiency and anemia in 280 participants from the population-based Manitoba IBD Cohort Study.
RESULTS:
Iron deficiency was identified in 20% with Crohn's disease and 27% with ulcerative colitis. Anemia was identified overall in 50 (18%), with 230 who were nonanemic. In the nonanemic subgroup, there were no significant differences between iron-deficient and -sufficient groups in mean fatigue levels or proportions with problematic fatigue. There was no unique contribution of iron deficiency to problematic fatigue after adjustment for active disease and anemia.
CONCLUSIONS:
There was no evidence of an association between iron deficiency and fatigue in the absence of anemia, suggesting that iron deficiency is not a clinically relevant contributor to fatigue in IBD.