Evaluation of the COVID-19 Fear and Quality of Life in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease During the Pandemic

Aim: Novel Coronavirus disease (COVİD-19) pandemic had caused various problems in follow up and treatment of many chronic diseases such as Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD). This study aimed to determine the level of fear and anxiety of COVID-19 and evaluate the quality of life of patients with IBD during the pandemic. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted as a cross-sectional study, and a total of 150 participants (IBD patient group=75, control group=75) were included. In order to evaluate the level of COVID-19 fear and anxiety, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) were used. In addition, Short Form-36 (SF-36) test was used to evaluate health-related quality of life. Results: FCV-19S and CAS scores were significantly higher in IBD patients compared to the control group. (p lt;0.05). In IBD patients some subscores of SF-36 were significantly lower than the control group (p lt;0.05). Univariate regression analyses showed that university degree of education, having Crohn’s disease, and using anti-TNF drugs were significantly correlated with the high level COVID-19 fear (p lt;0.05). FCV-19S results were found to be negatively correlated with emotional role limitation, energy, and mental health subscores of SF-36 in patients with IBD (p lt;0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that IBD patients had higher levels of fear and anxiety regarding COVID-19. Increased levels of fear and anxiety decreased quality of life specifically mentally. One should keep in mind that the probability of nonadherence to drugs in patients with IBD during the pandemic and psychiatric support should be provided if necessary.