Disorders of the anxiety-depressive spectrum in inflammatory bowel diseases (psychosomatic correlations)

Abstract

To systemize anxiety-depressive disorders in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and to reveal clinically relevant psychosomatic correlations. Fifty inpatients with IBD, including 32 with ulcerative colitis and 19 with Crohn's disease, were examined using clinical and follow-up methods. Affective mental disorders (depressions of various structures of different genesis) were found in most (72%) of cases. Adaptation disorders in patients with personality pathology, depression in cyclothymia, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia were identified as well. Psychosomatic correlations depended on the stage of IBD and the genesis of affective disorders. Somatogenic asthenic disorders prevailed at the stage of IBD manifestation and depressions of different structure with different course (recurrent, bipolar, attack-like) at the further stages of IBD. The psychosomatic relations at the subsequent stages of IBD were characterized by psychosomatic balancing. There were tendencies of convergence and divergence of mental disorders with the current somatic disease. The most severe variants (chronic continuous course, resistance to therapy) were found in patients with comorbid endogenous mental disorders. This was primarily due to the lack of a rational attitude of patients to the somatic disease and, therefore, the low compliance that must be taken into account in the treatment.