OBJECTIVES: The health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) patients is significantly impaired due to the chronic and relapsing nature of the disease. IBD patients experience symptoms including abdominal pain, diarrhoea, rectal bleeding, and weight loss, often with high rates of anxiety, depression, and fatigue. These debilitating symptoms and unpredictable disease trajectory often result in reduced HRQoL.

METHODS: A cross-sectional, online study was developed for IBD Patients in Ireland assessing clinical, HRQoL and societal impacts. Patients were recruited through an online media campaign. HRQoL was collected using the EuroQol EQ-5D-5L questionnaire and a project-specific template captured resource use. Socio-demographic and clinical data were also collected. Multivariate regression analyses assessed factors driving HRQoL variation.

RESULTS: 161 IBD patients were recruited. The average EQ-5D-5L utility score was 0.76 (SD 0.19) and VAS score was 66.5 (SD 21.3). Age, comorbidity index, current disease activity/control, and treatments were significant drivers of HRQoL variation. When comparing patients with no comorbidities, those reporting two had significantly lower EQ-5D (β= -0.09; p=0.03) and VAS scores (β= -.9.3; p=0.02). When comparing those who felt their IBD was well controlled in the past two weeks, those who felt it was not, had significantly lower utility scores (β= -0.12; p=0.00). When comparing those in remission, patients with severe disease had significantly lower utility scores (β= -0.14; p=0.03) and VAS scores (β= -.29.0; p=0.00). Furthermore, patients reporting moderate disease had lower VAS scores (β= -.11.2; p=0.02). When comparing average HRQoL between IBD and Irish population averages, IBD overall and by gender had lower HRQoL.

CONCLUSIONS: IBD significantly impacts HRQoL with severe disease activity, poorly controlled IBD, existing comorbidities, age and treatment patterns predicting lower HRQoL. These findings highlight the diverse needs of this patient group indicating further exploration of holistic and patient-centred approaches to improve HRQoL.