Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Adolescent Health; Chron'S Disease; Cognitive Function; Cognitive Impairment; Gut-Brain Axis; Health Research; Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Ibd); Nervous System; Neuropsychiatric Research; Ulcerative Colitis

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), encompassing Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), is characterized by chronic gastrointestinal tract inflammation, disrupting the gut-brain axis (GBA). This disruption has been implicated in several psychiatric and neurocognitive disorders.  Although previous research has demonstrated that adolescents with IBD are at higher risk for cognitive impairments, this study extends these findings to understand which specific IBD-related factors predict cognitive functioning in adolescents between the ages 10-16 years with a diagnosis of IBD. The research comprises two main objectives. First, a patient-reported questionnaire will capture disease-related factors from participants. Second, a neuropsychological battery, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Fifth Edition (WISC-V), will assess cognitive functioning. Recruitment from Kingston, Ontario tertiary care centers and IMAGINE SPOR network-connected hospitals will target 155 eligible adolescents. A demographic survey and the 38-item IBD Symptoms Inventory (IBDSI) will provide information IBD-related factors, such as bowel complications. Descriptive statistics will summarize demographic variables and IBD-related factors. Multiple regression analysis, controlling for demographics, will identify factors predicting cognitive impairment, such as verbal memory deficits. The false discovery rate (FDR) correction will control type I errors and maintain sensitivity for true effects. This study pioneers research on how specific IBD-related factors impact cognition in adolescents, providing early indicators and risk factors for cognitive impairment. This knowledge informs interventions during critical transitional phases in education and employment for adolescents with IBD.