Perception of illness and coping strategies in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases

Inflammatory bowel diseases are one of the leading causes of gastrointestinal diseases in terms of the frequency of complications, severity of the course, and mortality. According to data from 2020, the prevalence of IBD in Russia is 19.3-29.8 cases per 100,000 population for non-specific ulcerative colitis and 3.0-4.5 cases per 100,000 population for Crohn's disease, with an increasing incidence among working-age individuals. Numerous studies have shown that psychoemotional stress plays a key role in exacerbating inflammatory bowel diseases, which highlights the need to study the ways in which patients with these diseases perceive and cope with stress. The aim of this study is to investigate the perception of illness and coping strategies among patients with inflammatory bowel diseases. The study involved 110 patients, including 66 patients with Crohn's disease and 44 patients with non-specific ulcerative colitis. According to the results of the study, patients with a diagnosis of non-specific ulcerative colitis perceive their disease as the most negatively affecting their lives, the most threatening to their lives and health, are more concerned about the disease and its consequences, better identify the symptoms of the disease, and use the coping strategies of "Confrontation" and "Flight-Avoidance" more often than patients with a diagnosis of Crohn's disease.

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