Risk factors and fatigue in difficult-to-treat Crohn’s disease: A cross-sectional study of a Chinese cohort

Table 1 Characteristics of patients with difficult-to-treat Crohn’s disease and non difficult-to-treat Crohn’s disease, n (%)/mean ± SD/ median (interquartile range)

Characteristics	DTT-CD (n = 90)	Non DTT-CD (n = 85)	P value
Age	32.00 (25.00-42.00)	34.00 (23.75-46.00)
Gender
Male	68 (75.6)	55 (64.7)
Female	22 (24.4)	30 (35.3)
Disease duration (years)	6.85 ± 5.70	5.23 ± 5.43	0.057
Disease activity
Active	22 (24.4)	35 (41.2)
Remission	68 (75.6)	50 (58.8)
Anal fistula
(+)	85 (94.4)	53 (62.4)
(-)	5 (5.6)	32 (37.6)
Surgical history
(+)	54 (60.0)	32 (37.6)
(-)	36 (40.0)	53 (62.4)
Age at diagnosis (years)
< 17	5 (5.6)	5 (5.9)
17-40	72 (80.0)	60 (70.9)
> 40	13 (14.4)	20 (23.5)
Behavior
B1	34 (37.8)	27 (31.8)
B2	39 (43.3)	43 (50.6)
B3	11 (12.2)	6 (7.1)
B2 + B3	6 (6.7)	9 (10.6)
Location
L1	20 (22.2)	29 (34.1)
L1 + L4	7 (7.8)	3 (3.6)
L2	3 (3.3)	5 (5.9)
L2 + L4	1 (1.1)	3 (3.5)
L3	49 (54.4)	37 (43.5)
L3 + L4	9 (10.0)	6 (7.1)
L4	0 (0)	2 (2.4)
Number of biologics or small molecule
0	10 (11.1)	27 (31.8)
1	37 (41.1)	58 (68.2)
2	39 (43.3)	NA
3	4 (4.4)	NA
IL (pg/mL)
IL-5	1.13 ± 0.71	0.86 ± 0.54	0.005
IL-10	3.35 (2.64-4.77)	3.32 ± 1.47	0.099
Hemoglobin (g/L)	142.00 (126.00-150.00)	132.00 (115.75-147.00)	0.011
Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory total scores	52.56 ± 13.57	50.71 ± 12.96
General fatigue	11.16 ± 3.49	10.90 ± 3.66
Physical fatigue	11.62 ± 3.78	12.00 (9.00-15.00)
Mental fatigue	10.00 (7.00-12.00)	9.00 (6.00-11.00)	0.032
Reduced activity	11.32 ± 3.14	11.00 (9.00-12.25)
Reduced motivation	8.00 (6.00-11.00)	8.00 (7.00-10.00)

Normally distributed data are expressed as mean ± SD, with P values derived from Student’s t-test or analysis of variance; non-normally distributed data are expressed as median with interquartile range, with P values derived from the Mann-Whitney U test or the Kruskal-Wallis test, respectively. Anal fistula: (1) (+) previous simple or complex anal fistula; and (2) (-) without any anal fistula or perianal disease. Surgical history: (1) (+): Crohn’s disease-related surgery; and (2) (-): Without any Crohn’s disease-related surgery. Number of biologics or small molecule with different mechanism: (1) Anti-tumor necrosis factor (infliximab, adalimumab); (2) Integrin receptor antagonist (vedolizumab); (3) Interleukin antagonist (ustekinumab); and (4) Janus kinase inhibitor (tofacitinib)[18]. CD: Crohn’s disease; DTT: Difficult-to-treat; IL: Interleukin; NA: Not available.