The Study
Effects of B vitamins and magnesium on fatigue, disease activity and quality of life in inflammatory bowel disease
This study gave some people vitamins and magnesium and others fake pills, then asked them how tired they felt and how their stomach felt. The people who got the real vitamins said they felt less tired and had fewer stomach symptoms — but we don’t know if it’s because the vitamins fixed something inside their body or just because they felt better thinking they were getting help.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Scientists gave IBD patients who felt tired a daily pill with B vitamins and magnesium to see if it helped them feel better.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 583 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1The fatigue and symptom improvements were real and statistically strong in UC patients, but not big enough to improve overall life quality in just 4 weeks.
- 2In ulcerative colitis patients: fatigue dropped by 1.98 points (out of 20) and disease symptoms dropped by 1.32 points.
- 3In Crohn’s disease patients: no change.
- 4Quality of life didn’t improve.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Scientific Reports
Year
2026
Authors
Elmira Ramezani, P. Bager, Kimia Torabinasab, N. E. Daryani, Mehdi Azizmohammad Looha, Mohammad Masoumvand, M. Taher, Masoud Ashadzadeh, M. Vafa
Related Content
Claims (6)
Low levels of folate and Vitamin B12 are associated with the rise in chronic fatigue cases in modern populations.
Adults with ulcerative colitis in remission who took 100 mg vitamin B1, 100 mg vitamin B6, 200 µg vitamin B12, and 250 mg magnesium daily for four weeks showed a statistically significant decrease in fatigue scores on the IBD-F questionnaire.
In adults with Crohn’s disease who are in remission, taking a daily supplement of vitamin B1, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and magnesium for four weeks does not result in a measurable change in self-reported disease activity.
In adults with ulcerative colitis in remission, taking a daily supplement of 100 mg vitamin B1, 100 mg vitamin B6, 200 µg vitamin B12, and 250 mg magnesium for four weeks is associated with a measurable decrease in self-reported disease activity, as shown by a 1.32-point reduction on the P-SCCAI scale.
Taking daily supplements of vitamin B1, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and magnesium for four weeks does not improve quality of life in adults with inflammatory bowel disease who are in remission, based on a standardized quality-of-life survey.
In adults with inflammatory bowel disease in remission, a specific combination of B vitamins and magnesium reduces fatigue and disease activity in those with ulcerative colitis but does not affect these outcomes in those with Crohn’s disease.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.