722 Racial Differences in the Experience of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: In patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), disease-related worries and concerns can have a substantial impact on clinical outcomes. However, most of the existing literature addressing IBD, its treatment, and disease-related concerns is drawn from majority Caucasian populations. This study aims to compare IBD-related worries and concerns among African American (AA) and non-African American (non-AA) patients. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study of IBD patients receiving biologic infusion therapy at a large academic medical center using the Rating Form of IBD Patient Concerns (RFIPC, © 1991, Rome Foundation Inc). This validated tool contains 25 items that assess concerns falling within four sub-domains on a scale from 1-100: impact of disease (IOD), sexual intimacy (SI), complications of disease (CD), and body stigma (BS). Total score, sub-domain scores, and individual item scores were compared between AA and non-AA groups using linear regression analysis, adjusting for age and sex. RFIPC used with permission of Mapi Research Trust, Lyon, France: https://eprovide.mapi-trust.org. RESULTS: Of 53 patients included in this preliminary analysis, 17 were AA and 36 were non-AA. AA participants tended to be younger (35.8 vs 45.3) and more predominantly female (71% vs 42%) compared to non-AA participants. Although AA participants tended to report a greater total burden of concerns, the difference was not significant (mean difference 91.75, P 0.65). AA patients had significantly greater concern in BS (mean difference 28.09, P 0.02); while there was a trend toward higher scores in other sub-domains in the AA group, these were not significant. Type 3 fixed effects analysis revealed significant effect of age on sum score (P 0.01) and IOD (P 0.01) and of sex on SI (P 0.05) and BS (P 0.01). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that AA patients may experience slightly more IBD-related concern than non-AA patients. Although only the difference in concerns related to body stigma was significant, there was a trend toward greater concern in all other subdomains as well as overall concern in the AA group. We predict more significant differences with continued patient enrollment. Our study highlights important issues to discuss with AA patients, particularly relating to hygiene and self-awareness. As the prevalence of IBD in African Americans continues to increase, further research in this area will facilitate delivery of optimal IBD care for this population.