Parental Psychological Factors and Quality of Life of Children With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract

Objectives: Parents have a central role in the management of children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Alterations in parental psychological well-being may affect the patient's health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between maternal and paternal distress, anxiety, depression and pain catastrophizing and the HRQoL of patients with IBD. Methods: Children with IBD ages 8 to 18 years and their parents were prospectively recruited. Children answered questionnaires on HRQoL while parents completed an assessment of distress, anxiety, depression, and pain catastrophizing. Univariate and multivariate regression models analysis were used to evaluate correlations between parental measures and patient's HRQoL and between the factors related to children health and parental psychological suffering. Results: One hundred patients (45 Crohn disease, 55 ulcerative colitis), 90 mothers and 62 fathers were enrolled. Parents had high levels of distress while anxiety, depression, and pain catastrophizing levels were relatively low. Parental distress had the most substantial correlation with children's HRQoL and was associated with patients’ disease activity and recent flares. On multivariate regression analysis, parental factors explained less than 20% of the variance in the children's HRQoL scores. Mothers suffered from psychological alterations more frequently than fathers, but the parental inter-rater agreement was strong in regards to distress and anxiety. Conclusions: Parental distress is high and correlates with the HRQoL of children with IBD. Interventions aimed at evaluating and managing parental distress should be considered during the management of children with IBD.

Clinical and Psychological Issues in Children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease During COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) in 10 years and older children was evaluated through the IMPACT III questionnaire. 4 We experienced a significant reduction in the number of children admitted to our hospital when compared with the previous 8 weeks (29 of 180 [16.1%] vs 109 of 180 [60.5%]; P < 0.01). Overall hospital admissions were decreased by 64.2% during the lockdown (58 vs 162; Fig.…”

“…5 However, we did not register specific HR-QoL red flags, with overall scores not differing from previous cohorts. 4 The satisfying social functioning may be partially related to decreased stressful events, such as school, or to an increased parental closeness.…”

Psychosomatic Disorders in Patients with Gastrointestinal Diseases: Single-Center Cross-Sectional Study of 1186 Inpatients

“…The definition of SAS standard score ≥ 50 is divided into the presence of anxiety symptoms. The higher the score, the more severe the anxiety: 50 ≤ SAS < 60 for mild anxiety, 59 < SAS < 70 for moderate anxiety, and SAS > 69 for severe anxiety Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) [ 15 ]: used to assess the time frequency of depressive symptoms in the last month, and the subjects with an SDS score ≥ 53 were classified into the depression group. The higher the score, the more severe the depression: 53 ≤ SDS < 63 for mild, 62 < SDS < 73 for moderate, and SDS > 72 for severe depression Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) Questionnaire [ 9 ]: used to assess the sleep quality of the patients in the last month.…”

Online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Nutrition Workshop for Parents of Children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Feasibility, Acceptability, and Initial Effectiveness

“…This is over and above the child’s rumination or magnification of their own pain [ 6 ]. Moreover, parent behaviours have also been shown to be an important predictor of a child’s report of pain intensity in IBD samples [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. These findings highlight the importance of parents’ cognitions and behaviours related to their child’s pain, regardless of their child’s current IBD disease activity.…”