Alcohol and narcotics use in inflammatory bowel disease.

The aim of this study was to evaluate alcohol consumption and narcotics use among patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). A comprehensive literature search was conducted in Medline using relevant keywords. The references of the retrieved articles were also searched to identify additional articles. Only English-language studies that provided evidence on alcohol consumption and/or narcotics use among non-hospitalized IBD patients were included in the present review. Twelve studies were included that examined the use of alcohol among IBD patients. The prevalence of alcohol consumption among IBD patients appeared to be similar to that of the general population. The majority of the studies reported worsening of IBD symptoms among patients who consumed alcoholic beverages. Four studies were identified that evaluated narcotics use as analgesia among IBD patients. Narcotics use was prevalent among IBD patients and correlated with a longer disease duration and comorbid mental illnesses. The available evidence suggests that alcohol consumption may have a deleterious effect on IBD symptoms. Furthermore, a considerable proportion of IBD patients are reported to use a narcotic as analgesia and this was correlated with their mental health status. Further studies are needed to address these important facets of IBD.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Sexual Function in Male and Female Patients: An Update on Evidence in the Past Ten Years.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Inflammatory bowel diseases [IBD] are a group of chronic, debilitating inflammatory intestinal conditions. The aim of this review was to assess the recent data regarding the impact of IBD in sexual function of male and female patients. METHODS: A literature search was conducted on MEDLINE using, among others, the following search terms or their combinations: ulcerative colitis; Crohn's disease; sexual function; sexual health; relationship status; erectile dysfunction; surgery. All English-language studies published in the past 10 years which provided data evaluating the sexual function in IBD patients were included. RESULTS: Fourteen studies were identified; six included IBD patients registered on a national database or presented in a clinical setting, whereas eight evaluated sexual function after a surgical intervention for IBD. The majority of the studies used the validated for general populations International Index for Erectile Function [IIEF] and the Female Sexual Function Index [FSFI] for the assessment of sexual function among males and females, respectively. An impaired sexual function has been reported in general cohorts of IBD patients; females seemed to experience worse sexual dysfunction than males. Furthermore, depression was a consistent negative predictive factor across studies. Surgery did not seem to affect sexual function in the majority of studies, except a prospective one which reported a significant improvement in male sexual function [IIEF, p < 0.05] but not female [FSFI, p = 0.6]. CONCLUSIONS: Sexual function among IBD patients may be impaired, thus more studies are needed in order to develop the appropriate instruments and proper and effective management strategies.