Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Dec;51(12):2027-2033.
doi: 10.1111/imj.15034.

Psychosocial burden of inflammatory bowel disease in adolescents and young adults

Jessica Halloran  1 , Brett McDermott  2 , Tatjana Ewais  1   3   4 , Jakob Begun  5   6   7 , Shamshad Karatela  8 , Helen d'Emden  9 , Christian Corias  10 , Simon Denny  1
Affiliations

Psychosocial burden of inflammatory bowel disease in adolescents and young adults

Jessica Halloran et al. Intern Med J. 2021 Dec.

Abstract

Background: This study examined the psychosocial burden of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in young people aged 15-25 years attending a tertiary specialist health centre for adolescents and young adults in Brisbane.

Aims: To describe the impact of IBD on psychosocial well-being in young people and to compare well-being in the IBD cohort to well-being among young people with other chronic conditions, with a view to identifying characteristics and challenges unique to those with IBD.

Methods: Young people with IBD provided demographic information and psychosocial data through a cross-sectional self-report survey. Psychosocial data included the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, World Health Organisation Well-being Index, Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory, Short Quality of Life Questionnaire for IBD, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Connor Davidson Resilience Scale 2 and the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale.

Results: Surveys were collected from 51 young people with IBD and compared with surveys from 210 young people with juvenile rheumatic disease (n = 31), phenylketonuria (n = 21), cystic fibrosis (n = 33), renal transplants (n = 14) and craniomaxillofacial conditions (n = 111). On the psychosocial domains, 41% of young people with IBD had poor well-being and 37% were at risk of depression. When assessed against the comparison group, young people with IBD reported higher depressive symptoms (P = 0.04), worse illness perceptions (P < 0.01) and lower internal locus of control (P < 0.01).

Conclusions: Early recognition and treatment of depression and other psychosocial comorbidities within integrated pathways of care is crucial in adolescents and young adults with IBD and likely to improve the course of IBD and their overall health and well-being. Interventions aimed at enhancing self-efficacy and increasing public awareness are also likely to be helpful.

Keywords: adolescence; chronic illness; psychology; young adulthood.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Cosnes J, Gower-Rousseau C, Seksik P, Cortot A. Epidemiology and natural history of inflammatory bowel diseases. Gastroenterology 2011; 140: 1785-94.
    1. Johnston RD, Logan RFA. What is the peak age for onset of IBD? Inflamm Bowel Dis 2008; 14(Suppl 2): S4-5.
    1. Mackner LM, Crandall WV. Brief report: psychosocial adjustment in adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease. J Pediatr Psychol 2006; 31: 281-5.
    1. Wilson J, Hair C, Knight R, Catto-Smith A, Bell S, Kamm M et al. High incidence of inflammatory bowel disease in Australia: a prospective population-based Australian incidence study. Inflamm Bowel Dis 2010; 16: 1550-6.
    1. Knowles SR, Graff LA, Wilding H, Hewitt C, Keefer L, Mikocka-Walus A. Quality of life in inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and meta-analyses - part I. Inflamm Bowel Dis 2018; 24: 742-51.

LinkOut - more resources