A case-control study of the prevalence of neurological diseases in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

Abstract

Neurological diseases are common in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients, but their exact prevalence is unknown. Method: We prospectively evaluated the presence of neurological disorders in 121 patients with IBD [51 with Crohn’s disease (CD) and 70 with ulcerative colitis (UC)] and 50 controls (gastritis and dyspepsia) over 3 years. Results: Our standard neurological evaluation (that included electrodiagnostic testing) revealed that CD patients were 7.4 times more likely to develop large-fiber neuropathy than controls (p = 0.045), 7.1 times more likely to develop any type of neuromuscular condition (p = 0.001) and 5.1 times more likely to develop autonomic complaints (p = 0.027). UC patients were 5 times more likely to develop large-fiber neuropathy (p = 0.027) and 3.1 times more likely to develop any type of neuromuscular condition (p = 0.015). Conclusion: In summary, this is the first study to prospectively establish that both CD and UC patients are more prone to neuromuscular diseases than patients with gastritis and dyspepsia.