Relevance. Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are characterized by a chronic, relapsing course, are often diagnosed at a young age, and require lifelong treatment. This leads to physical, psychological, and social problems for patients, negatively affecting their quality of life (QOL). Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the most prognostically informative psychological characteristics in IBD patients in relation to health-related QOL.
Materials and methods. The study included 78 patients with IBD, with a mean age of 35.99 ±10.73 years; 18 (23.1 %) were men. Among the participants, 43 had a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease
(K50) and 35 had a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis (K51). Clinical and psychosocial indicators were recorded. The psychodiagnostic methods used included TMT, ITT, BDI, BFI, WCQ, SFLQ, and
QOL study methods, specifically the general SF-36 questionnaire and the specialized symptom questionnaire GSRS.
Results and discussion. The regression analysis resulted in three models for each QOL domain: 1) a model explaining general physical well-being (PH) (R² = 0.904) with 8 predictors; 2) a model explaining general psychological well-being (MH) (R² = 0.803) with 4 predictors; and 3) a model explaining the level of QOL in gastrointestinal diseases (R² = 0.993) with 6 predictors. The SF-36 “Physical Role Functioning” measure has the greatest prognostic value for PH, while the “Emotional Role Functioning” measure has the greatest prognostic value for MH: the higher these scores, the more patients engage in daily role activities and the more satisfied they are with the physical and psychological components of their quality of life. The most prognostically informative GSRS indicator is the severity of diarrhea: the higher it is, the worse the QOL.
Conclusion. The data obtained demonstrate the need for a comprehensive approach to the treatment of patients with IBD, taking into account not only clinical but also sociopsychological
factors that determine quality of life during the disease.