[Psychological and somatic factors in the disease course of Crohn disease]

Abstract

Crohn's Disease is a severe chronic illness. It is only a little known about which factors determine its course. In this study we investigate 3 somatic (firstly diagnosed vs. repeated inflammation, Crohn's Disease Activity (CDAI), anatomic localization) and 6 psychic (coping-patterns) factors in relation to the duration of the acute inflammatory phase. The sample consists of 90 patients from internistic clinical departments. Under a nomothetic perspective we apply a survival analysis and supplement this by a comparison of two single cases. The results support the thesis, that the course of Crohn's Disease is multifactorially determined. The somatic as well as the psychic (coping) factors allow an at least modest prediction. But there is a marked tendency that an "active-problemorientated", a "not-trivializing" coping and a well established compliance are the more promising predictors.