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VIDEO: Veteran Population may Skew Mental Health Assessments in IBD
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LAS VEGAS — In this exclusive video perspective from Crohn’s & Colitis Congress 2019, Tiffany H. Taft, PsyD, a clinical psychologist at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, discusses results of a longitudinal study that demonstrated that depression and anxiety symptoms significantly varied by sex, dietary modifications and work status in veterans with inflammatory bowel disease.
Taft, who specializes in the psychological impact of chronic digestive diseases, noted that the presenter discussed how anxiety and depression over a more long-term phase of several months appeared cyclical in different patients, with some experiencing highs and lows of anxiety and depression over time.
“I think that really pinpoints how variability in IBD course, [and] maybe disease flares, directly reflect in mood and anxiety that we see in IBD patients over and over again in the literature and it’s great to have some more long-term longitudinal data on that,” she told Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease.
However, Taft did note that she had a concern with the use of the patient population.
“The VA population is [a] very special group of people and as [Mallepally] rightly pointed out has a lot of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health concerns not related to IBD that could have potentially influenced some of the findings that were shown,” she said. “So, I would love to see more longitudinal studies looking at anxiety and depression in IBD and more representative patient samples to see, is this something that will hold up when we start looking outside the VA who maybe don’t have as much psychiatric comorbidity. – by Ryan McDonald
Reference:
Mallepally N, et al. Abstract 15. Presented at: Crohn’s & Colitis Congress; Feb. 7-9, 2019; Las Vegas.
Disclosure: Taft reports no relevant financial disclosures.