Psychological well-being of children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease

ObjectivesPrior studies on the psychological well-being in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (PIBD) have reported controversial results. Our aim was to compare the psychological well-being and lifestyle factors in patients with PIBD and their controls and to assess the role of contributing disease characteristics.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 60 PIBD patients aged 6-17 years (26 with Crohn's disease [CD], 34 with ulcerative colitis [CD] or unclassified colitis [IBD-U]) from two university hospitals in Finland, and their age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Psychological well-being was assessed with three measures: a questionnaire on overall psychological well-being (PSWB) and for adolescents also Beck Depression Inventory (BDI Ia) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). In addition to disease characteristics and pain, we assessed physical activity, sleep, screen time, and social well-being.ResultsControls were more likely of stressing more (OR = 3.67, 95% CI = 1.02-13.14), but other measures of psychological well-being did not differ statistically significantly between patients and controls. In CD, a clinically more active disease associated with inferior psychological well-being in adolescents (BDI [rho = 0.63, p = 0.021], PSS [rho = 0.70, p = 0.008], PSWB [rho = 0.56, p = 0.049]). Longer time from diagnosis correlated with better psychological well-being on BDI (rho = -0.39, p = 0.024) and PSS (rho = -0.38, p = 0.034). Lifestyle was more sedentary in PIBD (less physical activity in children OR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.68-0.99 and more screen time in adolescents OR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.00-1.40).ConclusionAlthough the clinical features of PIBD are potentially a burden for psychological well-being, many young patients cope well with their disease. Individual variation in well-being is remarkable, making supportive measures challenging. image What is Known Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic conditions that show unpredictable gastrointestinal symptoms with relapsing nature and thus pose a risk to psychosocial functioning. Prior studies on the psychological well-being in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (PIBD) have reported controversial results.What is New The psychological well-being of PIBD patients is not necessarily worse than in the healthy peers and patients seem to have even lower perceived stress. Longer time from diagnosis may predict better psychological well-being. The psychological health and lifestyle of IBD patients should be evaluated individually to target supportive measures.