The relationship of quality of life and selected sociodemographic factors in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Introduction Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of chronic inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract with relapsing-remitting episodes that are very burdensome for the patient. Understanding the sociodemographic factors that affect a patient's quality of life helps us to better understand the behavior and life circumstances of the patient as well as the patient's ability to cope with the stresses caused by IBD. Aim The aim of the study was to identify factors that affect the quality of life of patients with IBD. Material and methods The study involved 100 patients with confirmed IBD (50 subjects with Crohn's disease and 50 subjects with ulcerative colitis). Women constituted 45% (n=45) of the study group, while the remaining 55% (n=55) of the group were men. The mean age of the respondents participating in the study was 37.27 +/- 13.38. The youngest patient was 20 years old and the oldest was 76. The respondents were treated at the Department of General and Colorectal Surgery and at the Department of Digestive Tract Diseases (both at Medical University in Lodz, Poland). Data were collected using the SF-36 general questionnaire, the IBDQ specific questionnaire, and the original author's questionnaire. Participation in the study was anonymous and voluntary. A significance level of 0.05 was adopted in the statistical analysis. Results The study showed that the quality of life of IBD patients is reduced. The psychosocial factors influencing the quality of life of IBD patients include education, place of residence, professional activity, having a spouse, and lack of surgical intervention. However, no significant relationship was found between the respondents' gender and age and their quality of life in any of the domains of the SF-36 and IBDQ questionnaire. Conclusions The occurrence of IBD, a chronic and incurable disease, reduces the quality of life of those patients. However, a higher level of education, living in a larger community, and increased physical activity all have a positive impact on the quality of life of patients with IBD.