Abstract Background Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), is a chronic condition of the gastrointestinal tract. A high prevalence of anxiety and depression has been observed in these patients. Although not psychosomatic, there is a bidirectional relationship between inflammation and mental health. These disorders affect quality of life and clinical outcomes, yet their assessment remains limited in practice. Methods Cross-sectional, analytical study conducted in 50 patients with confirmed IBD diagnosis, treated at the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinic of the Hospital General de México between March and April 2025. Validated psychometric instruments were applied: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (Hamilton-D) to assess affective symptoms. Demographic, clinical, and biochemical variables were recorded and analyzed. IBM SPSS Statistics v.26 was used. Student’s t-test was applied to compare continuous variables between groups (UC vs CD), while categorical variables were compared using chi-square (χ²). A p value 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results A total of 50 patients were included: 32 with UC and 18 with CD. The mean age was 37.7 ± 13.4 years, with no significant differences between groups (p = 0.252). Fifty-four percent were women. The prevalence of clinical depression was high: 96% according to HADS and 100% according to the Hamilton scale. Anxiety, based on HADS, was identified in 54% of patients. No statistically significant differences were found in anxiety or depression scores between UC and CD (HADS-D: p = 0.457; HADS-A: p = 0.951; Hamilton-D: p = N/S). Fecal calprotectin and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were higher in CD patients compared with UC (median calprotectin: 374 μg/g vs 201 μg/g; CRP: 3.3 mg/L vs 2.3 mg/L), although without statistical significance. This pattern is clinically expected, given the transmural and systemic nature of inflammation in CD. Conclusion Patients with IBD in this cohort showed a high emotional burden, with an alarming prevalence of significant depressive and anxious symptoms, regardless of disease type. The absence of statistical differences between UC and CD suggests that the emotional impact is not determined by disease location or pathophysiology, but rather by the challenges of living with a chronic illness. These findings support the urgent need to implement structured mental health screening strategies as part of the comprehensive management in specialized IBD clinics, as well as to establish timely psychological or psychiatric interventions, even in the absence of evident inflammatory activity. Conflict of interest: Gonzalez Lopez, Roberto Emmanuel: No conflict of interest Rosales Tellez, Paola: No conflict of interest Chida Romero, Jesus Antonio: No conflict of interest Hernandez Antolin, Victor: No conflict of interest Contreras Aviles, Estefania: No conflict of interest Rodriguez Cruz, Hector: No conflict of interest Sebastian Ocampo, Valeria Natalie: No conflict of interest Cabrera Palma , Guillermo: No conflict of interest Lopez Perez, Raquel Yazmin: No conflict of interest Jimenez Bobadilla, Billy: No conflict of interest Dr. De Leon Rendon, Jorge Luis: Dr. Jorge Luis De León Rendón is a member of Advisory Boards, key opinion leader, and speaker for Abbvie Mexico, Takeda Mexico, and Janssen Mexico. He has served as a key opinion leader and lecturer for Schwabe Pharma Mexico, Servier, Pfizer, Alfasigma, and Siegfried Rhein Mexico. He has received support for research manuscript publication and editing from Takeda and Schwabe Pharma Mexico. Additionally, he has coordinated research studies and medical education programs with Shire, Bristol Myers Squibb, Takeda, Schwabe Pharma, Abbvie, Janssen, MSD, and Roche.
Lopez et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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