Grant: CIHR Fellowship

The inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), pose a significant health problem for many adults. Individuals with these chronic illnesses suffer spontaneous relapses, hospitalizations, surgery, and regular use of costly medications. IBD therefore has the potential for severe health-related consequences. Community surveys conducted in the Manitoba IBD population have found that many persons with IBD (70%) identify stress as a contributor to disease symptoms. Previous research by the University of Manitoba IBD Clinical and Research Centre has identified perceived stress as a significant predictor of IBD symptom flares when tracked at 3 month intervals. Persons with frequent IBD symptoms also report the experience of disease to be a source of stress in their lives. However, the disease experience of persons with IBD varies widely both between individuals and for each individual over time, making it difficult to assess the precise role of stress and other risks for symptom flares. The development of methods that can sample IBD symptoms and risk factors more frequently and in real time will allow research to precisely investigate these fluctuations in symptoms and predictors of these changes over shorter periods. This study aims to develop experience sampling methods for IBD and to follow a community sample of Manitobans with IBD each week for a year. Changes in IBD symptoms and in potential risk factors such as perceived stress, mood, coping, disability, and well-being will be assessed. Clinical variables such as disease type (CD or UC), phenotype characteristics, disease duration, history of surgery, smoking, and personal characteristics such as age and sex will also be explored. It will then be possible to closely examine how fluctuations in disease symptoms and risk factors may relate over time. With this information, we can develop effective ways to help persons with IBD manage symptoms and risk factors for disease flares.