title: Remission on thiopurinic immunomodulators normalizes quality of life and psychological status in patients with Crohn's disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Thiopurinic immunomodulators are effective for maintaining symptom remission in Crohn's disease. Little is known, however, about their effect on patients' quality of life or psychological well-being. The present study aimed to determine whether remission induced by thiopurinic immunomodulators returns levels of quality of life and psychological well-being to normal.
  
  
  METHODS
  A case-control study was performed. Cases were 33 patients with Crohn's disease treated with azathioprine or 6-mercaptopurine and in stable remission for at least 6 months. Sixty-six healthy individuals matched 2:1 by age and sex and 14 patients with active Crohn's disease were included as control groups. Quality of life was evaluated with the Short Form (SF-36) questionnaire, and the respective Hamilton rating scales were used for anxiety and depression. ANOVA with Bonferroni's correction was used for multiple comparisons.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SF-36 global scores were 85 in the study group, 85 in healthy controls (P = 1), and 58.6 in patients with active disease (P < 0.001 for the comparison with the other 2 groups). The differences between values were 0 (95% CI -4-4), 26.4 (95% CI 20-32), and 26.4 (95% CI 19-33), respectively. The respective anxiety and depression scores were 6.5, 5.5, and 16.2 and 3.7, 3.3, and 10.9. No significant differences were observed in any of the SF-36 domains between case and control groups, whereas in patients with active disease, all domains were significantly worse.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Thiopurinic immunomodulator-induced remission restores normal levels of quality of life and psychological well-being in Crohn's disease patients.
authors.affiliation: Unitat de Malalties Digestives, Hospital de Sabadell, Institut Universitari Parc Taulí, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain. xcalvet@cspt.es
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Calvet
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Gallardo
authors.forename: Ramón
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Coronas
authors.forename: Francesc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Casellas
authors.forename: Antònia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Montserrat
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Torrejón
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vergara
authors.forename: Rafel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Campo
authors.forename: Enric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brullet
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D015122:Mercaptopurine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012074:Remission Induction
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D015122:Mercaptopurine