Symptom clusters in adults with inflammatory bowel disease

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Clinical Psychology
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Symptoms like pain, fatigue, and depression significantly impact the quality of life for individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
• Identifying distinct symptom clusters and associated patient factors is crucial for developing effective, targeted management strategies for IBD patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify distinct symptom cluster memberships among adult patients diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
• To investigate the associations between demographic and clinical factors and membership within identified IBD symptom clusters.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective analysis of data from 5,296 participants in the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America's Partners Cohort.
• Latent class analysis (LCA) was employed to identify symptom clusters using Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) measures for pain, fatigue, sleep, anxiety, and depression.

Main Results:

• Four distinct symptom clusters were identified: 'low symptom burden' (26%), 'high symptom burden' (38%), 'physical symptoms' (22%), and 'psychological symptoms' (14%).
• Factors associated with the 'high symptom burden' cluster included female gender, smoking, corticosteroid use, Crohn's disease diagnosis, and active disease state.

Conclusions:

• Symptom presentation in IBD is heterogeneous, with distinct clusters requiring tailored approaches.
• Understanding these symptom clusters and their associated factors can guide the development of more focused and effective interventions for improving the quality of life in IBD patients.