ASSESSMENT OF QUALITY OF LIFE IN ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE WITH MILD ACTIVITY AND IN CLINICAL REMISSION.

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), represented by Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), is a chronic condition that affects all age groups, predominantly in young individuals. Currently, an increase in the prevalence of IBD has been documented, in parallel with the increase in the elderly population. The scarce number of studies that better characterize the impact of IBD on Quality of Life (QoL) in the elderly motivated the present study. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of IBD on the QoL of elderly people treated at a Tertiary IBD Center. METHODS: Prospective cross-sectional study that included elderly patients (age ≥60 years) with quiescent or mildly active IBD treated at the HU-UFJF IBD Center between March 2019 and December 2022. Elderly companions without severe comorbidities who attended the consultation with the patients were included as a control group. Sociodemographic and IBD-related characteristics were recorded. QoL was assessed using previously validated questionnaires (WHOQOL-BREF and IBDQ). Patients with IBD with moderate to severe activity, history of recent or imminent hospitalization, serious or opportunistic infections in the last 6 months, previous neoplasia, dementia, and difficulty understanding/fulfilling the questionnaires were excluded. RESULTS: A total of 123 patients were included (74 with IBD and 49 in the control group), with a mean age of 67±6.2 years, 52.7% with CD, and 47.3% with UC. Mild disease activity was observed in 31.1%. Both groups (IBD patients and control) were comparable based on age, sex, BMI, and the Charlson Comorbidity Index. Patients with IBD and controls had similar QoL scores in the different domains assessed by the WHOQOL-BREF. On the other hand, when evaluating the general facet of QoL, IBD patients had significantly lower scores in General QoL (3.71±0.87 versus 4.02±0.62, respectively; P=0.021) and General Health (3.32±1.05 versus 3.69±0.94, respectively; P=0.035). The presence of mildly active IBD negatively impacted the general health score (2.91±0.99 versus 3.47±1.04, respectively; P=0.035) and the physical domain of the WHOQOL-BREF (12.27±2.63 versus 13.86±2.61, respectively; P=0.019) when compared to patients in remission. Conversely, no impact on QoL was observed with the Application of the IBDQ questionnaire regarding the type of the disease (161±38.5 versus 163.1±42.6 for CD and UC, respectively; P=0.84) or the presence of activity (152.5±38.8 versus 166.4±40.5, respectively; P=0.17). CONCLUSION: No statistically significant differences were found between elderly patients with mildly active or quiescent IBD and elderly patients without IBD when observing global QoL scores. However, IBD negatively impacted the general facet of QoL, just as mild activity was associated with lower scores in general health and the physical domain assessed by the WHOQOL-BREF. Patients with IBD treated with biological therapy had better Qol than those on conventional therapy. Future studies are needed to choose the most appropriate tool for assessing QoL in this population.

Avaliação da qualidade de vida em pacientes idosos com doença inflamatória intestinal em atividade leve ou remissão / Assessment of quality of life in elderly patients with inflammatory bowel disease with mild activity and in clinical remission

ABSTRACT Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), represented by Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), is a chronic condition that affects all age groups, predominantly in young individuals. Currently, an increase in the prevalence of IBD has been documented, in parallel with the increase in the elderly population. The scarce number of studies that better characterize the impact of IBD on Quality of Life (QoL) in the elderly motivated the present study. Objective: To evaluate the impact of IBD on the QoL of elderly people treated at a Tertiary IBD Center. Methods: Prospective cross-sectional study that included elderly patients (age ≥60 years) with quiescent or mildly active IBD treated at the HU-UFJF IBD Center between March 2019 and December 2022. Elderly companions without severe comorbidities who attended the consultation with the patients were included as a control group. Sociodemographic and IBD-related characteristics were recorded. QoL was assessed using previously validated questionnaires (WHOQOL-BREF and IBDQ). Patients with IBD with moderate to severe activity, history of recent or imminent hospitalization, serious or opportunistic infections in the last 6 months, previous neoplasia, dementia, and difficulty understanding/fulfilling the questionnaires were excluded. Results: A total of 123 patients were included (74 with IBD and 49 in the control group), with a mean age of 67±6.2 years, 52.7% with CD, and 47.3% with UC. Mild disease activity was observed in 31.1%. Both groups (IBD patients and control) were comparable based on age, sex, BMI, and the Charlson Comorbidity Index. Patients with IBD and controls had similar QoL scores in the different domains assessed by the WHOQOL-BREF. On the other hand, when evaluating the general facet of QoL, IBD patients had significantly lower scores in General QoL (3.71±0.87 versus 4.02±0.62, respectively; P=0.021) and General Health (3.32±1.05 versus 3.69±0.94, respectively; P=0.035). The presence of mildly active IBD negatively impacted the general health score (2.91±0.99 versus 3.47±1.04, respectively; P=0.035) and the physical domain of the WHOQOL-BREF (12.27±2.63 versus 13.86±2.61, respectively; P=0.019) when compared to patients in remission. Conversely, no impact on QoL was observed with the Application of the IBDQ questionnaire regarding the type of the disease (161±38.5 versus 163.1±42.6 for CD and UC, respectively; P=0.84) or the presence of activity (152.5±38.8 versus 166.4±40.5, respectively; P=0.17). Conclusion: No statistically significant differences were found between elderly patients with mildly active or quiescent IBD and elderly patients without IBD when observing global QoL scores. However, IBD negatively impacted the general facet of QoL, just as mild activity was associated with lower scores in general health and the physical domain assessed by the WHOQOL-BREF. Patients with IBD treated with biological therapy had better Qol than those on conventional therapy. Future studies are needed to choose the most appropriate tool for assessing QoL in this population.

RESUMO Contexto: Doença inflamatória intestinal (DII), representada pela doença de Crohn (DC) e retocolite ulcerativa (RCU), é uma condição crônica e progressiva que afeta todas as faixas etárias, embora predomine em indivíduos jovens. Atualmente, tem sido documentado um aumento na prevalência de DII, de forma paralela ao aumento da população idosa. O escasso número de estudos que melhor caracterizem o impacto da DII na qualidade de vida (QV) em idosos motivou o presente estudo. Objetivo: Avaliar o impacto da DII na QV de idosos atendidos em um centro terciário de DII. Métodos: Estudo prospectivo transversal que incluiu pacientes idosos (idade ≥60 anos) com DII, atendidos pelo Centro de DII do HU-UFJF, entre março de 2019 a dezembro de 2022, e que apresentavam remissão clínica ou atividade leve de doença. Acompanhantes idosos sem comorbidades graves que compareceram à consulta com os pacientes foram incluídos como grupo controle. Foram registradas características sociodemográficas e relativas a DII. A QV foi avaliada por meio de questionários previamente validados (WHOQOL-BREF e IBDQ). Pacientes com DII com atividade moderada a grave, história de hospitalização recente ou iminente, infecções graves ou oportunistas nos últimos 6 meses, neoplasia prévia, demência, dificuldade de compreensão/ preenchimento dos questionários foram excluídos. Resultados: Foram incluídos 123 pacientes (74 com DII e 49 no grupo controle), com idade média de 67±6,2 anos, sendo 52,7% com DC e 47,3% com RCU. Atividade leve da doença foi observada em 31,1%. Ambos os grupos (pacientes com DII e controle) foram comparáveis com base na idade, sexo, IMC e Índice de Comorbidade de Charlson. Pacientes com DII e controle apresentaram escores de QV similares nos diferentes domínios avaliados pelo WHOQOL-BREF. Por outro lado, quando avaliada a faceta geral de QV, pacientes com DII apresentaram escores significativamente menores na QV geral (3,71±0,87 versus 4,02±0,62, respectivamente; P=0,021) e na saúde geral (3,32±1,05 versus 3,69±0,94, respectivamente; P=0,035). A presença de atividade leve impactou negativamente nos escores de saúde geral e de domínio físico do WHOQOL-BREF quando comparados com pacientes em remissão (2,91±0,99 versus 3.47±1,04, respectivamente; P=0,035 e 12,27±2.63 versus 13,86±2,61, respectivamente; P=0,019). Não foi observado impacto na QV com a aplicação do questionário IBDQ no que se refere ao tipo de DII (161±38.5 versus 163.1±42,6 para DC e RCU, respectivamente; P=0.84) ou a presença de atividade (152.5±38.8 versus 166.4±40.5, respectivamente; P=0.17). Conclusão: Não foram encontradas diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre pacientes idosos com DII em atividade leve ou quiescente e pacientes idosos sem DII quando observados os escores globais de QV. Porém, a DII impactou negativamente a faceta geral de QV, assim como a presença de atividade leve esteve associada a menores escores na saúde geral e no domínio físico avaliado pelo WHOQOL-BREF. Pacientes com DII tratados com terapia biológica apresentaram melhor QV do que aqueles em terapia convencional. Estudos futuros são necessários para escolha de ferramenta mais adequada para avaliação de QV nessa população.