Impact of moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease on sexual activity: United States and European patient perspectives from the communicating needs and features of IBD experiences (CONFIDE) survey

Abstract

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) negatively affect patients’ quality-of-life, and their impact on patients’ sexual health is rarely addressed. This study assessed the impact of moderate-to-severe UC and CD on sexual activity using United States (US) and European data from the Communicating Needs and Features of IBD Experiences (CONFIDE) survey. Methods: Online, quantitative, cross-sectional surveys were conducted among patients with moderate-to-severe UC or CD and health care professionals (HCPs). Moderate-to-severe UC or CD were defined using criteria based on previous treatment, steroid use, and/or hospitalization. The surveys were developed with input from HCPs and patient advisors and included questions on demographics, UC- or CD-related symptoms, and the impact of UC or CD on sexual health. Patients were asked whether they had avoided/decreased sexual activity in the past 3 months and their UC- or CD-related reasons. Patients and HCPs rated levels of impact of UC or CD on sex life/sexual intimacy and patients rated how bowel urgency interferes with their relationship with spouse/partner. Additionally, questions assessing the psychosocial health of patients and identifying gaps and barriers in HCP-patient communication were also included. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data. Results: Surveys were completed by 200 US and 556 European patients with UC and 215 US and 547 European patients with CD. Of these, most US (UC: 63%, CD: 69%) and European (UC: 53%, CD: 56%) patients reported avoiding or decreasing sexual activity due to UC or CD in the past 3 months; however, the proportion was significantly greater among US patients (p