P-203 Disease Activity, Depression, and Health Related Quality of Life in Adolescents with Inflammatory Bowel Disease Attending a Support Group

Abstract

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which consists of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, is a chronic, life-long condition without cure. Disease onset occurs during childhood or adolescence in 20% to 25% of patients. IBD causes significant morbidity, and because of this, greatly impacts psychosocial functioning and quality of life. Health related quality of life (HRQoL) is impacted by disease activity and a variety of other factors, many of which are unknown and unstudied in the pediatric population. Since medical visits focus primarily on disease activity surveillance and medication adjustments, we created a support group to provide additional education and psychosocial support to children and adolescents with IBD. Methods: Ten pediatric patients with IBD attended monthly meetings over a period of 18 months. HRQoL, depression, and disease activity was assessed by administration of IMPACT-III, CDI, and PUCAI surveys after each group attended. Results: Analysis of survey results found a trend towards correlation between number of groups attended and improved disease activity, HRQoL, and depression scores. We also found statistically significant trends already described in the literature, including worsening depression scores with increased disease activity, and lower HRQoL with both increased disease activity and with increased depression. Conclusions: In our sample of patients, HRQoL is impacted by depression and disease activity, and attending a support group as an adjunct to medical care resulted in improved patient outcomes.