Investigation of psychological manifestations and social function in Crohn′s disease patients of China

Objective To investigate the psychological disorder state of patients with Crohn′s disease (CD) and its influence on social function and quality of life of the patients. Methods Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) system was adopted to launch electronic questionnaire survey. The questionnaire included demographic and clinical date, the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS) and the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ), which was used to evaluate the psychological disorder state, social function and quality of life. Associated scale scores were compared between 169 CD patients and 174 healthy volunteers, and between the patients in active stage and those in remission. Results The DASS scores of CD patients in depression, anxiety and stress were significantly higher than those of healthy volunteers (DASS-D: 5.26±4.67 vs. 2.48±3.55, P<0.05; DASS-A: 4.88±3.99 vs. 2.78 ± 2.91, P<0.05; DASS-S: 6.57±4.59 vs. 3.79±3.87, P<0.05). The WSAS score of CD patients was obviously higher than that of healthy volunteers (13.02±10.21 vs. 2.44±5.58, P<0.05), and WSAS score of CD patients in active stage was obviously higher than those in remission as well (17.00±10.32 vs. 10.06±9.12, P<0.05). While the IBDQ score of CD patients in active stage was significantly lower than those in remission (153.86±29.45 vs. 178.51±27.02, P<0.05). Conclusion CD patients are more accompanied by depression, anxiety and stress with obvious social disability, and CD patients in active stage present the decrease of social function and quality of life. Key words: Crohn′s disease; Social function; Quality of life; Psychological disorder