Ostomy-Related Quality of Life in Puerto Ricans Living With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Prospective Cohort Study

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine ostomy-related quality of life (QOL) in Hispanic Puerto Ricans living with an enteral stoma and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We analyzed possible associations between QOL and sex, diagnosis, and type and duration of stoma.DESIGN: Prospective cohort study.SUBJECTS AND SETTINGS: The sample comprised 102 adults living with IBD and an ostomy; 60 of 101 (59.4%) were males, 44 of 102 (43.1%) had Crohn's disease, and 60 of 102 (58.9%) had an ileostomy. Participants were receiving care at the Center for IBD of the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico, between January 2012 and December 2014.METHODS: One-hundred two adults Puerto Ricans with IBD completed the Stoma Quality of Life (Stoma-QOL) questionnaire. Data were analyzed using frequency distributions for categorical variables and summary statistics for continuous variables. Independent-group t test and one-way analysis of variance, with the post hoc Tukey test, were used to determine group differences for the variables of age, sex, civil status, time living with an ostomy, type of ostomy, and IBD diagnosis. Results were analyzed according to the number of responses to each variable; the denominator varied for some variables.RESULTS: Having an ostomy for more than 40 months was significantly associated with a higher QOL score (59.0 vs 50.7; P = .05). Males had significantly higher scores than females (59.94 vs 50.23; P = .0019). Age, IBD diagnosis, and type of ostomy were not associated with the Stoma-QOL scores.CONCLUSIONS: The achievement (over 40 months) to attain improved ostomy-related QOL suggests that early training in the care of the ostomy and advanced planning when leaving home may enhance ostomy-related QOL. Lower QOL in women may represent an opportunity for a sex-specific educational intervention.