P3641 - Increased Odds of Anxiety, Depression, and PTSD in the Armed Forces IBD Population

Zachary Johnston, MD¹, Jared Magee, DO, MPH¹, Chad Porter, PhD, MPH^2
1Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD; ²Naval Medical Research Center, Fort Detrick, MD

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic condition with no cure. There is a known association between IBD diagnosis and the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One proposed etiology is the impact on patients’ work lives. While there has been data published on US Veterans and associated increase in depression, anxiety, and PTSD, we aim to highlight the impact of an IBD diagnosis on the armed forces service members (SM) in this study.

Methods: We identified the presence of anxiety, depression, and PTSD in patients diagnosed with IBD from 2001-2013, querying for these diagnoses both before and after a diagnosis of IBD was made. We collected data on both SM and SM beneficiaries (spouses, children, parents, etc.) and calculated prevalence of these diagnoses both before and after IBD diagnosis.

Results: We identified 39,123 patients (7,570 SM) diagnosed with IBD. The prevalence of anxiety, depression, and PTSD in SM before diagnosis of IBD was 3.05%, 7.56%, and 2.8% respectively, while after diagnosis of IBD was 10.33%, 19.91% and 9.45%. Meanwhile, the prevalence of each diagnosis in beneficiaries before diagnosis of IBD was 7.76%, 16.52%, and 1.91% while after was 17.42%, 32.77%, and 4.02%. The Odds Ratio (OR) of anxiety after IBD diagnosis in SM was 3.66 (95% CI 3.15 to 4.25, P< 0.0001) and in beneficiaries was 2.45 (95% CI 2.33 to 2.57, P< 0.0001). OR of depression after diagnosis of IBD in SM was 3.04 (95% CI 2.75 to 3.37, P< 0.0001) and in beneficiaries was 2.46 (95% CI 2.37 to 2.55, P< 0.0001). OR of PTSD with IBD in SM was 3.62 (95% CI 3.10 to 4.23, P< 0.0001) and in beneficiaries was 2.15 (95% CI 1.95 to 2.37, P< 0.0001).

Discussion: Our data support existing results of the association between anxiety, depression, and PTSD and IBD, but also highlight a sub-set that may be more affected by an IBD diagnosis. We emphasize the statistically significant increased odds of each diagnosis in the SM population. We speculate that the impact on career opportunities plays a larger role in this population than in the beneficiary population as the diagnosis can drastically impact one’s career. We hope to shed light on this association and raise awareness for providers involved in armed services patients. We propose this may also be the case in patients whose careers may be more dramatically affected than the average population by the diagnosis of IBD i.e. overseas obligations, austere environments etc.


Disclosures:


Zachary Johnston, MD¹, Jared Magee, DO, MPH¹, Chad Porter, PhD, MPH². P3641 - Increased Odds of Anxiety, Depression, and PTSD in the Armed Forces IBD Population, ACG 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting Abstracts. Vancouver, BC, Canada: American College of Gastroenterology.