Person:

Ananthakrishnan, Ashwin

Introduction

Psychiatric co-morbidity is common in Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). IBD-related surgery or hospitalizations represent major events in the natural history of disease. Whether there is a difference in risk of psychiatric co-morbidity following surgery in CD and UC has not been examined previously.

Methods

We used a multi-institution cohort of IBD patients without a diagnosis code for anxiety or depression preceding their IBD-related surgery or hospitalization. Demographic, disease, and treatment related variables were retrieved. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to individually identify risk factors for depression and anxiety.

Results

Our study included a total of 707 CD and 530 UC patients who underwent bowel resection surgery and did not have depression prior to surgery. The risk of depression 5 years after surgery was 16% and 11% in CD and UC respectively. We found no difference in the risk of depression following surgery in CD and UC patients (adjusted OR 1.11, 95%CI 0.84 – 1.47). Female gender, co-morbidity, immunosuppressant use, perianal disease, stoma surgery, and early surgery within 3 years of care predicted depression after CD-surgery; only female gender and co-morbidity predicted depression in UC. Only 12% of the CD cohort had ≥ 4 risk factors for depression, but among them nearly 44% were subsequently received a diagnosis code for depression.

Conclusion

IBD-related surgery or hospitalization is associated with a significant risk for depression and anxiety with a similar magnitude of risk in both diseases.

Introduction

Psychiatric co-morbidity, in particular major depression and anxiety is common in patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Prior studies examining this may be confounded by the co-existence of functional bowel symptoms. Limited data exists examining an association between depression or anxiety and disease-specific endpoints such as bowel surgery.

Methods

Using a multi-institution cohort of patients with CD and UC, we identified those who also had co-existing psychiatric co-morbidity (major depressive disorder or generalized anxiety). After excluding those diagnosed with such co-morbidity for the first time following surgery, we used multivariate logistic regression to examine the independent effect of psychiatric co-morbidity on IBD-related surgery and hospitalization. To account for confounding by disease severity, we adjusted for a propensity score estimating likelihood of psychiatric co-morbidity influenced by severity of disease in our models.

Results

A total of 5,405 CD and 5,429 UC patients were included in this study; one-fifth had either major depressive disorder or generalized anxiety. In multivariate analysis, adjusting for potential confounders and the propensity score, presence of mood or anxiety co-morbidity was associated with a 28% increase in risk of surgery in CD (OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.03 – 1.57) but not UC (OR 1.01, 95% CI 0.80 – 1.28). Psychiatric co-morbidity was associated with increased healthcare utilization.

Conclusion

Depressive disorder or generalized anxiety is associated with a modestly increased risk of surgery in patients with CD. Interventions addressing this may improve patient outcomes.