Relationship between inflammatory bowel disease and depressive symptoms in children and adults: A systematic review

Background: Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) can significantly impact a patient's quality of life, and depression is a common mental health concern in individuals with chronic illnesses. Objectives: To systematically analyze existing research on the link between IBD and depression, focusing on prevalence and potential influencing factors. Methods: We conducted a systematic search of electronic databases like PubMed, MEDLINE, Science Direct, and Scopus. Two independent reviewers screened and extracted data from eligible studies. Results: Nine studies including 7925 participants in total and more than half of them 4210 (53.1%) were females-were included in our data. The prevalence of depression among IBD patients ranged from 7.5% to 53.2%, with a total prevalence of 2161 (27.3%). The increased incidence of depression in the IBD population was significantly associated with female gender, educational attainment, history of smoking, IBD-related operations, having a co-occurring diagnosis of hypertension or cerebrovascular injury, disease activity, and more corticosteroid use. Conclusion: The prevalence of depression in IBD patients was relatively high. Many risk factors were documented to increase the incidence of depression in IBD such as female gender and disease activity. The prevalence of depression in IBD patients was relatively high. Many risk factors were documented to increase the incidence of depression in IBD such as female gender and disease activity