Low rates of PTSD, anxiety, depression reported in parents of children with IBD
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Parents of children with inflammatory bowel disease report relatively low rates of clinically significant psychological distress, even soon after their child’s IBD diagnosis, according to a cross-sectional study in Crohn’s & Colitis 360.
However, more symptoms of distress were reported among parents of children with more clinically active disease.
“Disease severity was an important driver of anxiety in the parents in our cohort, which mirrors prior studies,” Kevin T. Cesa, MD, and colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, wrote. “Interestingly, there was no significant association between parental anxiety and depression with other disease factors including IBD phenotype, current medical therapy, or total hospitalizations.
“In addition, there was no significant difference in the percentage of parents with moderate or severe concern for anxiety, depression, or PTSD between parents with children with active vs. quiescent disease. This suggests that parents with children with IBD are resilient in managing and adapting to their child’s disease.”
Researchers assessed self-reported symptoms of distress among parents of children aged 2 to 17 years with IBD, which included ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, unclassified IBD and very early onset IBD, who were enrolled at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children’s Hospital of Pittsburg from February 2021 to July 2021. Investigators measured parental symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Short Form v1.0 Anxiety 8A, Patient Health Questionnaire-8 and Impact of Event Scale-Revised, respectively.
To determine whether an association exists between parental distress and time from their child’s IBD diagnosis, researchers categorized participants into two cohorts: recently diagnosed (< 6 months from diagnosis, n = 52 parents) or established diagnosis (> 1 year from diagnosis, n = 103 parents). Children in the study also completed surveys about their IBD symptoms.
Most of the parents who participated in the study were women, and investigators reported no significant differences between the recently diagnosed and established diagnosed groups regarding household occupational prestige score, parental education level or marital status.
“For the entire cohort of parents, we found the mean scores on all measures of distress were within the normal ranges,” investigators wrote, noting that moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD were reported in 20%, 13% and 8% of parents, respectively.
Although parental symptoms of anxiety and depression did not significantly differ between groups based on time from IBD diagnosis, those symptoms were significantly associated with children’s clinical activity of disease.
“Parents with children with IBD demonstrated relatively low rates of clinically significant anxiety, depression and symptoms of PTSD, even soon after their child was diagnosed,” the researchers wrote. “It would be beneficial to screen parent[s] for psychological distress throughout their child’s disease course in order to provide comprehensive care for families with children with IBD.”
They added, “We also advocate for future studies and interventions, such as problem-solving therapies, mindfulness or electronic psychosocial interventions.”
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