Pregnancy and inflammatory bowel disease: Do we provide enough patient education? A British study of 1324 women

AIM To examine patient knowledge and factors influencing knowledge about pregnancy in British women with inflammatory bowel disease(IBD).METHODS This is a post hoc analysis of a study of female members of Crohn's and Colitis United Kingdom, aged 18-45 years who were sent an online questionnaire recording patient demographics, education, employment, marital status, and disease characteristics. Disease related pregnancy knowledge was recorded using Crohn's and colitis pregnancy knowledge score(CCPKnow).RESULTS Of 1324 responders, 776(59%) suffered from Crohn's disease, 496(38%) from ulcerative colitis and 52(4%) from IBD-uncategorised. CCPKnow scores were poor(0-7) in 50.8%, adequate(8-10) in 23.6%, good(11-13) in 17.7% and very good(≥ 14) in 7.8%. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that higher CCPKnow scores were independently associated with higher educational achievement(P < 0.001), younger age at diagnosis(P = 0.003) and having consulted a health care professional about pregnancy and IBD(P = 0.001). CONCLUSION Knowledge was poor in 50%. Speaking with healthcare professionals was a modifiable factor associated with better knowledge. This illustrates the importance of disease related pregnancy

Validation of the Italian translation of the perceived stigma scale and resilience assessment in inflammatory bowel disease patients

BACKGROUND Stigmatization is the separation of an individual from a group due to aspects that make them different.Resilience may in turn influence the perception of stigma.Patients with inflammatory bowel disease(IBD)are susceptible to stigma,although data are very limited.AIM To validate an Italian translation of the IBD perceived stigma scale(PSS)in relation to patients’resilience.METHODS Consecutive IBD outpatients were prospectively enrolled(December 2018-September 2019)in an Italian,tertiary referral,IBD center.Clinical and demographic data were collected.Stigma and resilience were evaluated through the IBD-PSS and the 25-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale,respectively.The International Quality of Life Assessment Project approach was followed to translate the IBD-PSS into Italian and to establish data quality.Higher scores represent greater perceived stigma and resilience.Multivariable analysis for factors associated with greater stigma was computed.RESULTS Overall,126 IBD patients(mean age 46.1±16.9)were enrolled.The International Quality of Life Assessment criteria for acceptable psychometric properties of the scale were satisfied,with optimal data completeness.There was no ceiling effect,whilst floor effect was present(7.1%).The discriminant validity and the internal consistency reliability were good(Cronbach alpha=0.87).The overall internal consistency was 95%,and the test-retest reliability was excellent 0.996.The median PSS score was 0.45(0.20-0.85).Resilience negatively correlated with perceived stigma(Spearman’s correlation=-0.18,95%confidence intervals:-0.42-0.08,P=0.03).CONCLUSION We herein validated the Italian translation of the PSS scale,also demonstrating that resilience negatively impacts perceived stigma.