Akif Shameem, MD: Generalized Anxiety Disorder Linked to Longer Hospitals in Children with IBD

A study found children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who had generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) endured longer hospital stays than patients without GAD. The research, led by Akif Shameem, MD, from The Brooklyn Hospital Center, was presented at the 2024 Annual North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) Meeting in Hollywood, Florida, from November 7 to November 9, 2024.

The primary objective of the retrospective cohort study was to assess the differences in inpatient outcomes between pediatric patients with IBD who either had or did not have GAD. The secondary outcome was to compare the demographic differences between the patients with and without GAD.Investigators analyzed all hospitalizations ≤ 21 years of age, with a primary discharge of IBD from the 2020 National inpatient and included 2259 pediatric discharges in the sample (with GAD: n = 276; without GAD: n = 1967).

The study revealed IBD patients with GAD had statistically longer hospital stays (7.62 ± 7.09 days (P <0.001), greater average total charge of $88,084 ± $99,712 (P < .001), more frequent need for parenteral nutrition (13.0% vs 7.4%, P < .001), and greater surgery rates (50.7% vs 43.7%, P < .027). Investigators did not observe differences in the incidence of anemia, vitamin D deficiency, or c. diff infection between those with and without GAD.

“This really highlights the importance of screening for and treating for general anxiety disorder in the outpatient clinic, so that we can kind of prevent these long admissions for these patients,” Shameem told HCPLive at NASPGHAN.

The factors accounting for the longer hospital stays among children with IBD and GAD is still being researched, but Shameem hypothesized that those with GAD are more likely to report worse symptoms. Even though this may be the case, Shameem said clinicians should still listen to their patient’s concerns at face value and do more intense interventions.

“We need to really treat the mental health component of IBD, because studies have shown that children with IB are twice as likely to develop anxiety disorder,” Shameem said. “So that means we really need to as clinicians, as pediatric gastroenterologists and as general pediatricians, we really need to focus on that and…screen for that when they're in our clinics.”

References

^{Shameem, A and Kondamudi, N. Cause for Concern: Inpatient Outcomes of Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Presented at NASPHGAN 2024 in Hollywood, Florida, from November 7 – November 9, 2024.}