En Zhao1, Qian Yu1, Abdoulaye Idriss Ali2, Yulu Mu3, Yachen Shi2, Lin Zhu4. 1. Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009, China. 2. Department of Neurology, Affiliated ZhongDa Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009, China. 3. Department of Vasculocardiology, Tanghe County People's Hospital, Nanyang, Henan 473400, China. 4. Department of Neurology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210006, China. Electronic address: julinzz@163.com.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: A combination of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and psychological comorbidities can influence the natural course of IBD. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to examine whether a standard IBD medical therapy without any antipsychotic intervention has beneficial effects on depression/anxiety in IBD patients. METHODS: PubMed and Web of Science databases were systematically searched for related literature from their inception to March 2020. The random-effects model was used to calculate the standardized mean difference (SMD). A total of 16 eligible studies were included in the present meta-analysis. RESULTS: Compared with baseline assessments, IBD patients with standard IBD medication had significantly reduced depression assessment scores (pooled SMD = 0.500; 95% confidence interval: 0.207, 0.793; P = 0.001). These results were obtained without any psychological interventions. Additionally, no significant differences in anxiety-related scores were detected between the baseline assessments and the end of therapy assessments (pooled SMD = 0.083; 95% confidence interval: -0.120, 0.285; P = 0.425). The meta-regression and subgroup analyses revealed that differences in assessment tools and medications might be the main source of heterogeneity. CONCLUSION: Standard IBD treatments can significantly alleviate the depressive symptoms in IBD patients. However, more studies are needed to analyze this association.
OBJECTIVE: A combination of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and psychological comorbidities can influence the natural course of IBD. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to examine whether a standard IBD medical therapy without any antipsychotic intervention has beneficial effects on depression/anxiety in IBD patients. METHODS: PubMed and Web of Science databases were systematically searched for related literature from their inception to March 2020. The random-effects model was used to calculate the standardized mean difference (SMD). A total of 16 eligible studies were included in the present meta-analysis. RESULTS: Compared with baseline assessments, IBD patients with standard IBD medication had significantly reduced depression assessment scores (pooled SMD = 0.500; 95% confidence interval: 0.207, 0.793; P = 0.001). These results were obtained without any psychological interventions. Additionally, no significant differences in anxiety-related scores were detected between the baseline assessments and the end of therapy assessments (pooled SMD = 0.083; 95% confidence interval: -0.120, 0.285; P = 0.425). The meta-regression and subgroup analyses revealed that differences in assessment tools and medications might be the main source of heterogeneity. CONCLUSION: Standard IBD treatments can significantly alleviate the depressive symptoms in IBD patients. However, more studies are needed to analyze this association.