Quality of Life and Psycho-Emotional Disorders as a Criterion for the Effectiveness of Therapy in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis

Abstract

Background. The analysis of quality of life (QOL) and psycho-emotional disorders (PED) allows not only to monitor the course of the disease, but also to solve many issues arising in the process of treatment. Objective. To study the quality of life and psycho-emotional disorders as a criterion for the effectiveness of therapy in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Material and methods. 52 patients with UC and 52 healthy volunteers (HV) were included in the study. The questionnaire for determining the quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBDQ), the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), as well as A.M. Wayne’s questionnaire were used. Results. According to the scale of anxiety (p=0.0000003) and depression (p=0.0000004) the patients with UC had a greater severity of psychological problems before treatment. The therapy led to a decrease in the severity of psychological problems both on the scale of anxiety (p=0.0000007) and that of depression (p=0.0000003) and allowed the UC patients to approach the HV group on the anxiety scale (p=0.20). The comparison of the patients with UC in terms of autonomic dysfunction syndrome (ADS) before and after treatment showed a decrease in the severity of ADS (p=0.0000010). Conclusions. Тhe QOL and PED assessment method can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of therapy in UC patients.