A Systematic Review to Summarise the Potential Issue of Body Image Dissatisfaction in Patient with Inflammatory Bowel Disease
By Sophie Beese, MPH Student
Inflammatory bowel disease (including Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis) is a serious chronic condition characterised by inflammation of the colon. It can have a huge impact upon the lives of those living with it affecting their quality of life and making day-to-day tasks difficult with symptoms including diarrhoea, rectal bleeding and severe abdominal pain. Studies have also suggested that patients with IBD are more likely to be dissatisfied with their body image which can have an impact upon quality of life.
However, the literature surrounding body image and IBD is stark with contrasting results and often body image is not considered as a primary outcome. It is not clear how much of an issue body image dissatisfaction might be in IBD patients and it would be useful to define this.
Having a personal connection with IBD has driven me to focus on this area where more understanding is needed to benefit patients.
Given this, the aim of my study is to review current literature to determine the potential issue of body image dissatisfaction in IBD patients through a subset of questions which explore the prevalence of body image dissatisfaction, the types of tools used to measure this, the factors associated with poor body image and the potential association between quality of life and body image dissatisfaction.
