Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative Colitis is ‘a condition in which the lining of the large intestine (colon) and rectum become inflamed’, as defined by the National Institute of Health (NIH). The symptoms of ulcerative colitis include pain in the abdomen, blood in the stool, often occurring diarrhea, fever, weight loss and feeling to pass stools (NIH). This condition can also affect children’s growth and slow it down. According to O'morain et al (1989) ulcerative colitis can be often misdiagnosed as Crohn’s disease due to similarity of symptoms, but laboratory findings and patient’s activities can be the index used to diagnose. At least thirty percent of the patients who suffer from this disease have surgery once in their lifetime (Moskovitz et al, 2000).

Levenstein et al (2000) conducted a study to understand the effects psychological factors on exacerbations occurrences of ulcerative colitis. They hypothesized that ‘perceived’ stress causes a higher risk of exacerbations. Sixty two patients were followed for 45 to 68 months with reports on their perceived stress, depression and other stressful events along with records of exacerbations. The results concluded that short term stress may have a lesser affect but long term stress can increase the risks of exacerbations. A reverse relation has also been observed between chronic stress and ulcerative colitis when chronic stress is at high risk in patients with ulcerative colitis (Riley et al, 1990).

Sewitch et al (2001) suggest in the conclusion of their study that social support developing techniques have reported to help patients suffering from ulcerative colitis with chronic stress. Patients who experienced higher levels of stress report to have benefitted from social support in a smaller network like family support group or church group. For patients who suffer from ulcerative colitis, social support would include their care providers ranging from surgeons to dieticians. Surgery in the life time of a person who suffers from ulcerative colitis can happen in thirty percent of cases and social support post surgery can also be crucial in these cases. Clinical intervention with help from counselors, psychologists post surgery mental and physical recovery could be an effective measure (Moskovitz et al, 2000).

                                                                   References

Levenstein, S., Prantera, C., Varvo, V., Scribano, M. L., Andreoli, A., Luzi, C. & Marcheggiano, A. (2000). Stress and exacerbation in ulcerative colitis: a prospective study of patients enrolled in remission. The American journal of gastroenterology, 95(5), 1213-1220.

Ulcerative Colitis- National Institute of Health (NIH)-

Doi: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000250.htm

Riley, S. A., Mani, V., Goodman, M. J., & Lucas, S. (1990). Why do patients with ulcerative colitis relapse. Gut, 31(2), 179-183.

Sewitch, M. J., Abrahamowicz, M., Bitton, A., Daly, D., Wild, G. E., Cohen, A  & Dobkin, P. L. (2001). Psychological distress, social support, and disease activity in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The American journal of gastroenterology, 96(5), 1470-1479.