Inflammatory bowel disease: a beast of burden

Abstract

Imagine having to empty your bowel eight or ten times a day and experiencing constant panic and fear about the location of toilet facilities. Imagine experiencing constant tiredness that impacts on all aspects of your life including work, family and social life. These are just two examples of experiences commonly suffered by individuals with a condition called inflammatory bowel disease. These people are burdened with symptoms which impact on their daily lives. This research aims to provide healthcare professionals with an understanding of the extent to which individuals with inflammatory bowel disease experience symptom burden and to identify what symptoms are most problematic. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis collectively termed as inflammatory bowel disease are complex disorders. In the United Kingdom, collectively Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis affects approximately one person in every 250 of the population. Ulcerative colitis affects up to 120,000 people in the UK, or every 1 ...