Is Health Status in Patients With Chronic Disorders of the Gastrointestinal System Disease-Specific? Results From an Integral Approach

BackgroundIn patients with chronic disorders of the gastrointestinal (GI) system, integral health is disturbed in all dimensions: physical, mental, quality of life, participation, meaningfulness, and daily functioning. In this group, three large subgroups are distinguished: Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD), Hepato-Pancreatico-Biliary diseases (HPB), and NeuroGastroenterology and Motility (NGM) disorders. Our aim was to compare integral health status between these three subgroups. For the NGM group, we focused on patients with documented motility disorders, not on patients with functional GI-disorders. We hypothesized that the NGM group will have lower scores for integral health status compared to the IBD and HPB groups.BackgroundIn patients with chronic disorders of the gastrointestinal (GI) system, integral health is disturbed in all dimensions: physical, mental, quality of life, participation, meaningfulness, and daily functioning. In this group, three large subgroups are distinguished: Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD), Hepato-Pancreatico-Biliary diseases (HPB), and NeuroGastroenterology and Motility (NGM) disorders. Our aim was to compare integral health status between these three subgroups. For the NGM group, we focused on patients with documented motility disorders, not on patients with functional GI-disorders. We hypothesized that the NGM group will have lower scores for integral health status compared to the IBD and HPB groups.MethodsA prospective, observational, questionnaire study was performed in patients with chronic GI-system disorders (IBD, HPB, and NGM) attending the Maastricht University Medical Center outpatient department. Validated questionnaires and patient file data were used to quantify six health dimensions.Key ResultsData from 416 patients were collected. In all domains, apart from meaningfulness, the NGM group (n = 93) had significantly (0.001 <= p <= 0.033) lower scores compared to the IBD (n = 174) and HPB (n = 149) groups. From the NGM group, 66% were malnourished, had symptoms of depression (36%) and anxiety (19%), and work participation was lowest (32%). Correlations between intra- and interdimensional parameters were moderate to strong apart from meaningfulness.Conclusions & InferencesCompared to patients with chronic IBD and HPB disorders, patients with NGM disorders have significantly lower scores in five of six dimensions of health: physical and mental well-being, quality of life, daily functioning, and participation.