300 patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were randomly selected from the community-based register held in Leicester. They were invited to participate in a study investigating personal problems of patients with IBD. 188 patients agreed to participate and were subsequently sent a previously validated questionnaire. A similar questionnaire was sent to buddy controls of similar age, sex and background (n = 76) as well as matched controls drawn at random from general practitioner lists (n = 46). Details sought included demographic data, patients’ perception of their disease severity, data relating to treatment, family history, fertility, frequency of sexual intercourse and the effect IBD had on personal relationships. 150 questionnaires were returned from patients (response rate 80%) and 122 from controls. The reliability of a randomly selected group of questionnaires was assessed by direct interview 4 months after the main study (n = 20). There were no demographic differences between the patient and control groups (age: t = 0.67, ns; duration of marriage: t = 0.92, and marital status/ number with a regular partner: χ² = 14, 12 d.f., p = 0.3). Dyspareunia was commoner amongst patients (n = 15, 38%) than controls (n = 7, 18%), although this was not statistically significant (z = 2.6). There was no significant difference in the overall frequency of sexual intercourse amongst patient and control groups (χ² = 12.78, 12 d.f.), even when comparing those with infrequent or no sexual intercourse (χ² = 6.98, 4 d.f.) The reliability of these results was confirmed after 4 months when there was no difference in resposnes in the re-interviewed group. Although there is no statistical evidence of a decreased frequency of sexual intercourse amongst men with IBD and women with ulcer-ative colitis they cite similar difficulties to women with Crohn’s disease, including fear of faecal incontinence (n = 17), abdominal pain (n = 13) and urgency (n = 11). Consequently there is a need to investigate the problems of patients with IBD sympathetically and refer them to the appropriate professional agencies.

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