Correlation between anxiety and decreased quality of life in patients with non‐esophageal eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases

Abstract

Abstract Background and Aim Mental status such as anxiety and depression in patients with non‐esophageal eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases (non‐EoE EGIDs) has not been studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether patients with non‐EoE EGIDs had mental disorders and decreased mental‐health‐related quality of life (QOL) similar to those in patients with disorders of gut–brain interaction (DGBI). Methods We enrolled patients with non‐EoE EGIDs and DGBI visiting the Osaka Metropolitan University Hospital, and the measures listed below were compared between the groups. We collected data using the following questionnaires: hospital anxiety and depression scale, and short form (SF)‐8 including mental component summary (MCS)‐8. Results We evaluated 21 and 17 patients with non‐EoE EGIDs and DGBI, respectively. The anxiety score was not significantly different between the groups. The proportion of patients with possible anxiety was not significantly different between the groups (19.0% vs 33.3%). These results show that patients with non‐EoE EGIDs had anxiety that might be equivalent to that of patients with DGBI. The depression score and proportion of patients with possible depression in the non‐EoE EGID group tended to be lower than those in the DGBI group. MCS‐8 scores were not significantly different between the non‐EoE EGID and DGBI groups, which might imply an equivalent decrease in mental‐health‐related QOL in both groups of patients. In patients with non‐EoE EGIDs, the anxiety score had a significant inverse association with the MCS‐8 score. Conclusions Patients with non‐EoE EGIDs may have anxiety that correlates with decreased mental‐health‐related QOL.

Keywords

• anxiety
• depression
• eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease
• eosinophils
• quality of life