Determination of disease activity, quality of life and anxiety level in patients with inflammatory inflammatory disease during the COVID-19 pandemic period

COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed our lives through various ways including social isolation, emotional and physical distress caused by COVID-19 related hospitalizations and deaths, and increased unemployment rates. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic became a worldwide health problem affecting millions, patient's with IBD constituted a special patient population which has been particularly impacted by the poor outcomes of the unprecedented situation. In this study, we assess the quality of life, anxiety levels and disease flare-ups in patients with IBD during Covid-19 pandemic aiming to guide/assist the management of the patients and bring a new perspective into the physician-patient rapport. The study includes the patient group with 62 IBD patients who visited Gazi University School of Medicine Gastroenterology outpatient clinic and the control group with 60 healthy individuals. The quality of life and anxiety levels of the individuals in the patient group vs control group were compared. In addition to the comparison between these two groups, same parameters were also compared according to demographics and disease activity within the patient group. Also, a separate survey was conducted for patients with IBD to evaluate their behavioral response to COVID-19 pandemic. The study demonstrated higher anxiety levels and lower quality of life in patients with IBD compared to the control group. Higher anxiety level and lower quality of life was also found in patients with active disease as compared to others. Quality of life and anxiety levels did not differ based on the patients' assumptions that COVID-19 pandemic placed them at increased risk due to their disease. However, most of the patients were concerned about being at increased risk due to their underlying health condition and current treatment. Moreover, patients had behavioral changes such as difficulty communicating with others and avoiding traveling. Most of the participants reported that they were compliant with masking, social distancing and hygiene standards. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that the patients living with IBD had a lower quality of life and higher anxiety levels compared to normal population owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to address the patients' mental health and the quality of life, physician-patient relationship must be maintained strong and satisfying in these difficult times through telemedicine visits and frequent follow ups which would eventually help lowering the cost of hospitalizations as well. Key words: İnflammatory bowel disease, COVID-19, quality of life