Ulcerative colitis and schizophrenia: fortuitous association or etiopathogenic link?

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease with multiple pathogenic factors. Psychiatric disorder have frequently been associated to ulcerative colitis, the most frequent being depression and anxiety, whereas schizophrenia is unusual. Report a new case of ulcerative colitis associated topsychiatric disorder. We report the case of a 42-year-old woman with ulcerative colitis associated with schizophrenia. Although the two diagnoses were concomitant, on questioning, she revealed that digestive symptoms began before psychiatric disorders. Few cases of schizophrenia associated with ulcerative colitis have been reported in the literature. We discuss epidemiological, etiopathogenic and therapeutic links between the two diseases.