Quality-of-life measurement in patients with inflammatory bowel disease receiving social support

Background: Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, referred to as inflammatory bowel diseases, affect mainly young adults and have an elevated morbidity and a negative effect on quality of life. This study aimed to compare the health-related quality of life between 2 randomized groups of patients with inflammatory bowel disease: (1) the supported group (SG), patients receiving social support for an 18-month period, and (2) the control group (CG), patients receiving no social support. Methods: Health-related quality of life was assessed at 4 moments with the Portuguese versions of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 and the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ), both validated in Brazil. Results: In the SG, using analysis of variance for repeated measures complemented by the Bonferroni test positive variations were observed (1) in the Social Aspects domain, between the first and third evaluations (P = 0.044), and (2) in the Emotional Aspects domain, between the first and second and the third and fourth evaluations (P = 0.029). Conclusions: In the sample studied, social support, measured by use of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire, had a positive impact on the social and emotional aspects of quality of life.