Abstract
The assessment of health-related quality of life may be an adjunct to understanding the chronic illness experience and its effects on health outcomes. In this study, we evaluated health-related quality of life of 150 patients with inflammatory bowel disease (63 ulcerative colitis, 87 Crohn's disease). We used a standardized measure, the Sickness Impact Profile, and a questionnaire we developed that elicits and prioritizes the disease-related worries and concerns of patients with IBD. Our preliminary data indicate that: (1) IBD patients experience moderate functional impairment more in the social and psychological than in the physical dimensions; (2) Crohn's disease patients report psychosocial dysfunction to a greater degree than ulcerative colitis patients; (3) IBD patients report greatest concerns about having surgery, degree of energy, and body image issues such as having an ostomy bag; and (4) functional status and patient concerns correlate better with other measures of health status and previous health care utilization than the physician's rating of disease activity. We believe that questionnaires measuring health-related quality of life (HRQOL) can be used in research and patient care to extend the clinical assessment of patients with IBD. Further work is needed to determine the role of HRQOL relative to disease activity and other physician-based assessments in predicting health outcomes.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Best WR, Becktel JM, Singleton JW, Kern F: Development of a Crohn's disease activity index. Gastroenterology 70:439–444, 1976.
Truelove SC, Witts LJ: Cortisone in ulcerative colitis. Final report on a therapeutic trial. Br Med J 2:1041–1048, 1955
Garrett JW, Drossman DA, Patrick DL: The assessment of quality of life in inflammatory bowel disease.In B Spilker (ed). Quality of Life Assessments in Clinical Studies. New York, Raven Press (in press).
Patrick DL, Elinson J: Sociomedical approaches to disease and treatment outcomes in cardiovascular care. Qual Life Cardiovasc Care 1:53–62, 1984
Green LW: Manual for scoring socioeconomic status for research on health behavior. Pub Hlth Rep 85:815–827, 1970
Bergner M, Bobbitt RA, Carter WB, Gilson BS: The Sickness Impact Profile: Development and final revision of a health status measure. Med Care 19:787–805, 1981
Dubois R: The status of health and quality of life. West Med J 125:8–9, 1976
Gazzard BG: The quality of life in Crohn's disease. Gut 28:378–381, 1987
Brown JS, Rowlinson ME, Hillis NC: Life satisfaction of chronic disease. Exploration of the theoretical model. Med Care 19:1136–1146, 1981
Weinryb R, Rossel R: Personality traits that can affect adaptation after colectomy. Psychother Psychosom 45:57–65, 1986
Bergner M, Bobbitt RA, Kressel S, Pollard WE, Gilson BS, Morris J: The Sickness Impact Profile: Conceptual formulation and methodological development of a health status index. Int J Health Serv 6:393–415, 1976
Bergner L, Hallstrom AP, Bergner M, Eisenberg MS, Cobb LA: Health status of survivors of cardiac arrest and of myocardial infarction controls. Am J Pub Health 75:1321–1323, 1985
Heizer JE, et al: A study of the association between Crohn's disease and psychiatric illness. Gastroenterology 86:324–330, 1984
Heizer JE, et al: A controlled study of the association between ulcerative colitis and psychiatric diagnoses. Dig Dis Sci 27:513–518, 1982
Wells KB, Stewart A, Burnam A, Hays R, Daniels M, Greenfield S, Ware J, Rogers W, Berry S. Profiles of health and functioning for depressed and nondepressed adult outpatients of mental health and medical clinicians. Presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, Chicago, Illinois, May 1987
Gazzard BG, Price HL, Libby GW, Dawson AM: The social toll of Crohn's disease. Br Med J 2:1117–1119, 1978
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Supported by a pilot grant from the Core Center in Diarrheal Diseases, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Drossman, D.A., Patrick, D.L., Mitchell, C.M. et al. Health-related quality of life in inflammatory bowel disease. Digest Dis Sci 34, 1379–1386 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01538073
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01538073