Illness Identity in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Gastroenterology
• Health Sciences

Background:

• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) significantly impacts adult lives.
• Understanding how patients integrate their illness into their identity is crucial for patient well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the integration of illness into identity among adults with IBD.
• To examine the relationship between illness identity dimensions and patient-reported outcomes.

Main Methods:

• 109 adults with IBD completed validated questionnaires on illness identity, medication adherence, depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, health status, and HRQoL.
• Illness identity scores were compared to existing data from adults with congenital heart disease, refractory epilepsy, and multisystemic connective tissue disorders.
• Hierarchical regression analyses explored associations between illness identity and outcomes, controlling for covariates.

Main Results:

• Adults with IBD exhibited higher rejection and engulfment, and lower acceptance compared to other chronic illness groups.
• Higher illness engulfment was associated with increased depressive symptoms, lower life satisfaction, and poorer health status and HRQoL.
• Illness enrichment correlated with greater life satisfaction and better HRQoL; rejection and acceptance showed no unique associations.

Conclusions:

• Adults with IBD demonstrate high levels of illness engulfment.
• Illness identity, particularly engulfment, is a strong predictor of patient-reported outcomes in IBD.
• Interventions addressing illness identity may improve patient outcomes in IBD.