Factors Affecting Long-Term Outcomes for Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease-A Cross-Sectional Design

Background: Symptoms of and treatments for inflammatory bowel disease have an impact on patients' health-related quality of life and result in a need for self-care strategies. Little is known about factors affecting long-term outcomes and the types of coping strategies used by adult patients with inflammatory bowel disease to better cope with their chronic illness. Objective: This study aims to explore coping strategies, social support, and health-related quality of life and describe factors affecting long-term outcomes for patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used, with a consecutive sample of 206 patients with inflammatory bowel disease who were recruited at three gastroenterology clinics in Sweden and given surveys consisting of patient characteristics, the Brief COPE, and a social support questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. This study was guided by Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. Results: The sample was 53% women and included 206 patients with a median age of 48 years. The coping mechanisms often used were active coping methods (problem-focused). Most of the patients had someone special by whom they felt supported (89%). Gender differences were shown for emotional support and whether the patients had someone they felt close to. According to the findings, less bowel interfering and social support correlated with higher well-being. Worry was associated with giving up, symptom burden, and less bowel interfering. No significant correlations were shown for symptom burden and social support. Conclusions: Social support, especially from someone at home or offering comfort, was positively linked to well-being. Active, problem-focused coping was common and associated with better outcomes. Notably, no direct link was found between symptom burden and coping or support, underscoring the complexity of these relationships. These findings emphasize the need for psychosocial interventions to enhance coping and support, ultimately improving health-related quality of life in IBD.