P0467 Increased risk for depression and low quality of life in patients with active inflammatory bowel disease

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Abstract Background Patients diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at increased risk of developing mental health issues, such as depression, especially when experiencing disability and poor quality of life (QoL). Recent studies showed that the relationship between depression and IBD appears to be bidirectional, through the brain-gut axis. Methods We aimed to evaluate the risk for depression and the QoL in patients with active IBD hospitalized between January 2021-April 2024 in our clinic, at the moment of biologic initiation and at 6 months follow-up, for those achieving clinical remission. We screened for symptoms of depression using the self-administered Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) – ranging score 0-60 (0-15 no to mild; 16-23 moderate; 24-60 severe symptomatology). The self-administered Short Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (SIBDQ) was used to evaluate the health-related QoL through social, bowel, emotional and systemic dimension, with a score ranging from 10 (poor) to 70 (optimal). Results We included 47 patients (53.19% ulcerative colitis, 57.44% males, age 38.51±12.26 years old), with a disease duration of 6.43±6.28 years. 21 patients were reevaluated at 6 months. In patients with active IBD, the CES-D score was 14.15±13.04 and the SIBDQ score was 42.2±15.8 (42.6±19.2 social; 44.3±16 bowel; 43.6±16.9 emotional; 36.5±18 systemic). 18 patients (38.29%) were at risk for clinical depression, of whom 11 patients (23.40%) had severe depressive symptomatology. Patients being at risk for depression had lower SIBDQ scores (p<0.001), lower levels of serum albumin (p=0.007) and lower body mass index (p=0.004). In the subgroup analysis, both CES-D (17.23±15.63 vs. 8.09±7.19, p=0.005) and SIBDQ (40.81±16.45 vs. 56.09±10.68, p=0.002) were significantly improved after achieving clinical remission. Conclusion Considering the high rate of patients prone for depressive symptomatology, screening tools for depression and assessing QoL should be routinely used, and specialized psychiatric treatment should be integrated in the comprehensive care for IBD patients.