Predictors of depression among people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Biological, psychological and social predictors of depression among people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease
IRAS ID
209717
Contact name
Chris Dickens
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Exeter Medical School
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Our study will address the following question: among outpatients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), what are the main factors that predict the development of depression?
Depression is common among people with IBD and is associated with worse medical outcomes, e.g. increased physical symptoms, worse health-related quality-of-life, and greater IBD activity. Biological, psychological and social factors that predict depression have been identified but it remains unclear i) which factors are most important and ii) how these factors interact to predict depression. Recently there has been growing interest into links between inflammatory activity and the development of depression. Inflammation may lead to negative changes in the way individuals process information relating to emotional expressions on faces of people they encounter, though this has not been investigated in people with IBD.
We plan to identify the main biological, psychological and social predictors of depression among people with IBD, and also to investigate the possible roles of inflammation and emotional processing in contributing to depression in this group. Over 12-months, we will recruit 215 patients with IBD who are attending the gastroenterology clinics at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. Assessments will be conducted using paper and computerised assessments, clinical data will be extracted from medical records and an additional blood sample with be obtained for assay of key inflammatory mediators. Depression will be reassessed after 3 month via telephone interview. Statistical techniques will be used to identify the most important predictors of depression at follow-up, and to investigate the roles of inflammation and emotional processing biases in contributing to this depression. This research is important as it could help identify those at highest risk of developing depression and, by association, at risk of poor medical outcomes and could also elucidate important mechanisms of effect that could lead to the development of new treatments.
REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/SW/0209
Date of REC Opinion
9 Aug 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion