Influence of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Health-Related Quality of Life in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients in China: A Cross-Sectional Questionnaire-Based Study

Abstract

Background Following the Chinese government's announcement that the zero-COVID policy had ended, there was a rapid and widespread outbreak of COVID-19. In this context, the condition and psychological impact on IBD patients were unknown, and prior literature lacked reports on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of IBD patients during large COVID-19 outbreaks in China. Therefore, our study aimed to investigate the HRQoL of IBD patients during the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Methods We employed a cross-sectional survey via web-based questionnaires. The participants were IBD patients who had previously received treatment at Nanjing BenQ Medical Center. They completed the questionnaire between January 9, 2023, and January 23, 2023. We primarily assessed the HRQoL of IBD patients using the Short Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (SIBDQ) scores, and statistical analyses included the Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests. Results According to our survey, significant differences were observed in the following groups based on SIBDQ scores: types of IBD (p = 0.037), usage of medication after COVID-19 infection (p = 0.028), whether IBD patients felt more susceptible to COVID-19 than the general population (p < 0.05), whether their study or work had been negatively affected by COVID-19 in the past month (p < 0.05), and whether IBD patients had taken medication regularly according to medical advice within the past month (p < 0.05). Conclusions During the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall HRQoL of IBD patients was affected. Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) exhibited higher HRQoL than those with Crohn's disease (CD). Furthermore, IBD patients who maintained a positive attitude during the epidemic experienced higher HRQoL.