Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression Symptoms Among Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Multicenter Study

Global evidence has observed that individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at a heightened risk of experiencing psychiatric disorders, which often coincide with a decrease in their quality of life.

To assess the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms and associated factors among patients with IBD.

An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted at Tikur Anbesa Specialized Hospital and Adera Medical Center. Categorical variables were presented using frequency and percentage and compared between groups using the chi-square test. The normal distribution of the continuous variables was assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk test. Mean and standard deviation were calculated for normally distributed data, while the median and interquartile range were calculated for skewed data. We used univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analysis to examine the factors associated with depression and anxiety; results were reported as adjusted odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals and p value < 0.05 considered statistically significant.

The prevalence of anxiety and depression was 5.1% and 7.1%, respectively, in IBD. Moderate disease activity (AOR = 16.1 (1.7, 156.7), p = 0.015) and severe disease activity (AOR = 49.8 (2.1, 1144.02), p = 0.014) had a statistically significant association with increased rates of depressive symptoms. Moderate disease activity (AOR = 9.9, 95% CI: 0.9, 106.2, p = 0.058) had a positive association. Severe disease activity (AOR = 45.3, 95% CI: 2.0, 1018.0, p = 0.016) has a significant associated factor with having anxiety symptoms.

The prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in this study was generally low but can increase due to important factors such as disease activity, smoking, unemployment, a short duration after diagnosis, and having ulcerative IBD.