Open AccessParental Psychological Factors and Quality of Life of Children With Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Author(s) -
Bramuzzo Matteo,
De Carlo Chiara,
Arrigo Serena,
Pavanello Paolo Maria,
Canaletti Claudia,
Giudici Fabiola,
Agrusti Anna,
Martelossi Stefano,
Di Leo Grazia,
Barbi Egidio
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.206
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1536-4801
pISSN - 0277-2116
DOI - 10.1097/mpg.0000000000002548
Subject(s) - medicine , anxiety , quality of life (healthcare) , depression (economics) , psychological intervention , distress , somatization , disease , pain catastrophizing , clinical psychology , multivariate analysis , inflammatory bowel disease , univariate analysis , hospital anxiety and depression scale , psychiatry , chronic pain , nursing , economics , macroeconomics
Objectives: Parents have a central role in the management of children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Alterations in parental psychological well‐being may affect the patient's health‐related quality of life (HRQoL). This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between maternal and paternal distress, anxiety, depression and pain catastrophizing and the HRQoL of patients with IBD. Methods: Children with IBD ages 8 to 18 years and their parents were prospectively recruited. Children answered questionnaires on HRQoL while parents completed an assessment of distress, anxiety, depression, and pain catastrophizing. Univariate and multivariate regression models analysis were used to evaluate correlations between parental measures and patient's HRQoL and between the factors related to children health and parental psychological suffering. Results: One hundred patients (45 Crohn disease, 55 ulcerative colitis), 90 mothers and 62 fathers were enrolled. Parents had high levels of distress while anxiety, depression, and pain catastrophizing levels were relatively low. Parental distress had the most substantial correlation with children's HRQoL and was associated with patients’ disease activity and recent flares. On multivariate regression analysis, parental factors explained less than 20% of the variance in the children's HRQoL scores. Mothers suffered from psychological alterations more frequently than fathers, but the parental inter‐rater agreement was strong in regards to distress and anxiety. Conclusions: Parental distress is high and correlates with the HRQoL of children with IBD. Interventions aimed at evaluating and managing parental distress should be considered during the management of children with IBD.