A Case-Control study of the prevalence of neurological diseases in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

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.