Do IBD patients have a need for mental health care?

A recent study suggests greater focus must be given on depression or anxiety symptoms than an actual diagnosis of these psychological disorders in predicting who among people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) will have a need for mental health care.

In this study, IBD patients completed self-report questionnaires, such as the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and stated whether they wanted help with their mood. The investigators then assessed each participant using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis-I Disorders (SCIDs).

Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine which factors were predictive of the perceived need for mental health care.

A total of 245 participants were included, of whom 28 percent met the criteria for a past diagnosis of depression or anxiety disorder by SCID and nearly 23 percent for a current diagnosis of either of these psychological disorders. Nearly one in three patients (n=74) reported a perceived need for mental health care.

Only about half (58 percent) of the patients who met the criteria for a current SCID diagnosis of depression or anxiety reported a need for mental health care. Such a need was reported by 79 percent of people currently being treated for depression and 71 percent of those being treated for anxiety.

These individuals with a perceived need for mental health care showed higher mean HADS for depression and for anxiety, as well as higher IBD symptom activity scores.

Notably, 13 percent of participants reporting no perceived need for such care had a current diagnosis of depression or anxiety disorder by SCID, and even fewer showed symptoms of these mental disorders.

“Psychiatric comorbidity is common in IBD and can negatively affect disease outcomes,” the investigators said.