Ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome: relationships with quality of life.

OBJECTIVES: Quality of life is reduced in inflammatory bowel disease. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)-like symptoms seem to be common in inflammatory bowel disease patients during the remission phase. We aimed to (i) assess the prevalence of IBS-like symptoms in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients during the remission phase and (ii) evaluate the impact of IBS symptoms on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of UC patients in remission compared with the HRQOL of those in the active phase.

METHODS: Ninety-five patients with UC (45 patients in the active phase and 50 in remission for at least 12 months) and 100 selected controls (recruited from among those who visited the orthopedic minor trauma outpatient clinic during 2004-2005) completed questionnaires to evaluate IBS-like symptoms according to ROME II criteria: the influence of these symptoms on the HRQOL of UC patients in remission was compared with that on the HRQOL of those in the active phase. Chi square and nonparametric tests were used.

RESULTS: The prevalence of IBS-like symptoms in UC patients in remission and controls were 46 and 13%, respectively (P<0.001). HRQOL seemed to be significantly reduced in both active UC patients and UC patients in remission with IBS, compared with UC patients in remission without IBS and with controls (P<0.001). In active UC patients, the mean scores for most elements (as measured by SF36) were considerably lower than for UC patients in remission (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION: The prevalence of IBS-like symptoms in UC patients in remission is about three times higher than in controls, and these patients have impaired HRQOL comparable with that of UC patients in the active phase.