Non-pharmacological interventions to manage fatigue in adults with inflammatory bowel disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Highlights

• Fatigue is a highly prevalent symptom in adults with IBD.

• The pooled evidence from this review support non-pharmacological interventions to manage fatigue in adults with IBD.

• Non-pharmacological interventions can be coupled with medical care to manage fatigue among adults with IBD.

Abstract

Background and Purpose

The prevalence of fatigue is higher in adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). There is limited information on the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions to manage fatigue. The purposes of this review is to evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions to manage fatigue in adults with IBD.

Materials and methods

A systematic review was conducted based on the PRISMA guidelines. Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software was used to compute metaanalysis.

Results

Eleven studies were included in the review. The interventions to manage fatigue included problem-solving therapy, solution-focused therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, psychoeducational intervention, exercise advice with omega-3 supplements, electro-acupuncture, and AndoSan. The pooled evidence from the metaanalysis demonstrated that non-pharmacological interventions could decrease IBDFatigue (SMD = 0.33, 95% CI [0.10, 0.55], p = 0.005).

Conclusion

The pooled data indicate that non-pharmacological interventions are helpful in managing IBD-Fatigue. Additionally, the non-pharmacological interventions reviewed could be utilized to promote self-management in IBD.