The state of psycho-emotional status in adolescent children with chronic gastroduodenitis, associated with Helicobacter pylori infection in the period of exacerbation and remission

Abstract

Relevance. In the pathogenesis of chronic gastroduodenitis, along with an infectious factor (Helicobacter Pylori infection), an important role is played by the state of the patient’s psycho-emotional status, which is characterized by a high incidence of anxiety and subdepressive states in adolescence. Goals: to assess the state of the psycho-emotional status and quality of life in adolescent children with chronic gastroduodenitis associated with Helicobacter pylori infection in the period of exacerbation, after 1 month and 6 months after successful eradication therapy. Materials and methods. The prospective case-control study included 60 adolescent children with morphologically proven chronic gastroduodenitis associated with Helicobacter pylori infection (main group) in the period of exacerbation, in 1 month. and 6 months. after successful eradication therapy. As a comparison group, 22 schoolchildren with the first health group were taken, comparable in age and gender with the children of the main group. All children underwent psychological testing (Spielberger test to assess the levels of reactive and personal anxiety, Zung test to determine the level of depression) and assessed the quality of life. Results. During the period of remission, more than half of the children with chronic gastroduodenitis had complaints common for asthenic syndrome: weakness, mental exhaustion, and headaches. In the period of exacerbation, the highest rates were noted on the scales of personal and reactive anxiety, depression, followed by improvement during treatment and worsening of indicators after 6 months after eradication therapy. Quality of life indicators, characterized by improvement after eradication therapy, after 6 months. showed a statistically significant decrease on the scales of physical functioning (RP), general health (GH), vitality (VT) and mental health (MH). Conclusion: Adolescent children with chronic gastroduodenitis characterized by changes in the psycho-emotional status in the form of subdepression and increased anxiety, both reactive and personal. These changes are not completely stopped after the use of traditional therapy for chronic gastroduodenitis and persist in the period of remission, worsening the quality of life, increasing the negative perception of the disease and treatment prospects.