Incontinence and crippling fatigue disrupts education and ruins job prospects for children with IBD

Debilitating daily symptoms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) not only cause depression and psychological complications in young people, but also significantly disrupts their education and ability to stay at work. In response to a new study highlighting the impact of IBD on children, United European Gastroenterology (UEG), Europe’s largest digestive health body, is calling for quicker diagnosis and treatment to minimise the impact IBD has on childrens’ education and future employment.

The Impact of IBD Study¹ recently published in the Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis, reveals that a quarter of young IBD sufferers across Europe, had to take over 25 days off work in the last year and almost a third (31%) had lost or had to quit their job.¹ 61% felt that their symptoms had affected their ability to perform to their full potential in an educational setting¹ with many having at least 3 months absent from school per year². 

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a life-long condition that causes inflammation in the intestine and is increasing in children with 30% of all IBD patients presenting with symptoms between the ages of 10 and 19.³  The two most common inflammatory bowel diseases are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, affecting around 70 in every 100,000 children⁴.

IBD can be difficult to diagnose with patients not always presenting with all the most common symptoms and the Impact of IBD Study also reports alarming delays in diagnosis with 17% of under 18’s waiting more than 5 years to receive a final diagnosis. This can further impact on the patients’ mental wellbeing and ability to plan for their future.

As well as having to cope with the debilitating physical symptoms, including faecal incontinence and abdominal cramping, IBD patients also experience sleep deprivation and continual or profound fatigue which can severely affect their self-esteem⁵ and a quarter of these patients also suffer from depression.⁶   In fact, researchers have found that fatigue in people with IBD is comparable to those suffering from cancer⁷ making it extremely difficult to perform in the classroom or remain at work.

Dr Nikhil Thapar, Consultant Paediatric Gastroenterologist and UEG spokesperson, explains, “Constant fatigue and the fear of abdominal pain and incontinence, can make it impossible for young patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease to continue in education and hold down a job. It is essential that they are diagnosed and begin treatment as quickly as possible to help them manage their symptoms enabling them to stay at school and continue to work.  It is also important that they receive psychological support, to optimise their mental and emotional wellbeing.”