Treating IBD? Don’t Forget that Mental Health Matters

Excerpt

In recent years, the impact of psychiatric disorders among patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) has received increased attention due in large part to the disproportionate number of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and other psychiatric comorbidities in comparison with the general population [1]. These psychiatric comorbidities not only affect an individual patient’s quality of life, these disorders have also been associated with a more severe disease course [2] and increased healthcare resource utilization [3, 4], which can negatively impact the healthcare system as well. …