Quality of Life Among Children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abdulaziz A Alahmari; Sarah H AlShawaf; Huda A Meshikhes; Bedour A Aleid; Raghad M Aldossari; Marwa M Shafey; Ahmed A Aladsani; Abdulazeem A Al-Ibraheem; Nawal M AlRubia; Saleh A AlQahtani

doi:10.2147/IJGM.S394914

Quality of Life Among Children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Int J Gen Med. 2022 Dec 29:15:8775-8786. doi: 10.2147/IJGM.S394914. eCollection 2022.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, King Fahd Hospital of the University, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
² College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department of Pediatrics, Maternal and Children's Hospital, Ministry of Health, Alhassa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Pediatrics, Maternal and Children's Hospital, Ministry of Health, Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the quality of life in children and adolescents aged 7-18 years with inflammatory bowel disease and identify the factors that influence it.

Patients and methods: A multi-center cross-sectional study in which participants were recruited from 3 governmental hospitals in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. A total of 61 children with inflammatory bowel disease were approached, 44 participants were included according to their age (7-18 years), disease duration of at least 6 months, and without any other co-morbidities. A translated Arabic version of the IMPACT-III questionnaire was used to assess the quality of life of the participants with inflammatory bowel disease. In addition, disease-specific indices were used to measure their disease activity; Harvey Bradshaw for patients with Crohn's disease and Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis Activity Index for ulcerative colitis patients.

Results: The mean age of the 44 participants was 13.36 ± 2.85. Crohn's disease accounted for 56.8% of the sample, while 36.4% had ulcerative colitis and 6.8% had unclassified type. The majority were males and in disease remission. The mean total score of the questionnaire was 74.10 ± 12.21, where the domain of social functioning scored the highest and the domain of emotional functioning scored the lowest. Children who are 11 years or older scored significantly higher in emotional functioning and total mean scores. Statistical significance was also observed between the well-being domain and not having flare-ups in the past year, as well as disease severity with emotional functioning, body image, and total mean scores. It was found that corticosteroid utilization is a predictor of poorer quality of life and was statistically significant with the body image domain.

Conclusion: Measuring the quality of life in children with inflammatory bowel disease can aid in reducing its burden and help address its factors.

Keywords: Crohn’s disease; IMPACT-III; pediatrics; quality of life; ulcerative colitis.

Grants and funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.