Research Completed

Published Studies

Year Publication Categories
2018
Body Image Dissatisfaction in Pediatric Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Summary

Children and teenagers with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are at increased risk of being unhappy with their body image. This study aimed to learn more about how common body image dissatisfaction (or "BID") is among these children and teenagers and to see if we could point to any risk factors for having BID. A total of 664 participants in the IBD Partners Kids & Teens study, ages 9-18, completed an online survey about anxiety, depression, disease activity, and quality of life. We found that about 3% of participants met the criteria for having BID by selecting the answer choices "I look awful" or "I look bad" when asked about their appearance. Young patients with BID tended to have worse disease, to be taking steroids, to be female, and to be diagnosed at an older age. These participants were also much more anxious and depressed than those who were satisfied with their appearance. Pediatric patients with BID should discuss these concerns with their physicians and healthcare teams.


Full Scientific Abstract

Keywords
body image; body image dissatisfaction; BID, anxiety; depression; mood disorder; psychosocial; pediatric; children; kids; K&T; kids & teens; IBD Partners Kids & Teens;

Lifestyle,
Health Maintenance,
Mental Health