Medication use among inflammatory bowel disease patients: excessive consumption of antidepressants and analgesics

Abstract

Objective. Little is known about differences in the use of medications between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients and the general population. The aims of this study were to observe those differences and to discuss reasons for them. The relation between medication use and HRQoL of IBD patients was examined. Material and methods. The use of prescribed medication of 2831 IBD patients and 5662 control subjects were scrutinized and compared by utilizing a national reimbursement register. Annual costs and number of defined daily doses (DDD) of medications were calculated. The relationship between medications and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of IBD patients was examined by using a postal questionnaire including a generic (15D) and a disease-specific (IBDQ) HRQoL tool. The questionnaire also included demographic questions and questions about IBD patients' use of biological medications. Results. Use of antidepressants (OR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.28–1.61), anxiolytics (OR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.31–1.78), oral bisphosphonates (OR: 6.08, 95% CI: 4.56–8.11), cardiovascular medications (OR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.24–1.54), antibiotics (OR: 4.01, 95% CI: 3.57–4.51), proton pump inhibitors (OR: 3.90, 95% CI: 3.48–4.36), and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics (OR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.07–1.28) was significantly more common in IBD than among the controls. Those who used antidepressants, anxiolytics, or analgesics had significantly impaired HRQoL (p < 0.001). Conclusions. IBD patients and general population differ in terms of their medicine use in many respects, and especially use of analgesics and antidepressants is more common among IBD patients. Use of antidepressants, anxiolytics, and analgesics was related to impaired HRQoL.

Key Words::

• costs
• Crohn's disease
• inflammatory bowel disease
• medication
• ulcerative colitis

Acknowledgments

Financial support for printing and mailing the questionnaires was provided by Schering-Plough. The research was supported by a research grant from the Mary and Georg C. Ehrnrooth Foundation and by the Competitive Research Funding of the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District, Finland.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.