Patterns of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: perceived stress is a potential indicator for CAM use.

Introduction: The reasons for using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and the perception of stress in a group of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who are actively interested in CAM were compared with those of a randomly selected group of IBD patients (controls).

Methods: Participants in a national lay workshop on CAM of the German Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis Association (DCCV) (the study group) and a representative sample of the approximately 16,000 members and associates of the DCCV (the control group) were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire that covered socio-demographic data, past medical history, stress perception, current conventional treatment, and interest in, and usage of, CAM.

Results: One-hundred and twelve (80%) of the approximately 140 participants of the lay workshop and 684 (68.

[Validation of the German version of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (Competence Network IBD, IBDQ-D)].

The Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ) is the standard disease-specific instrument for assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). A German translation has not been validated. 415 outpatient IBD-patients (Crohn's Disease n = 306, Ulcerative Colitis n = 109) completed the German version of the IBDQ (Competence network IBD, IBDQ-D), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale German Version (HADS-D) and the Questions on Life Satisfaction FLZ.

Amount of systemic steroid medication is a strong predictor for the use of complementary and alternative medicine in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: results from a German national survey.

Objectives: Previous studies have suggested that inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients rank high among users of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). To further elucidate this phenomenon, we sent questionnaires to a large sample of IBD patients in Germany to determine the patterns and predictors of their CAM use.

Methods: Pretested 73-item questionnaires were mailed to a randomly selected representative sample of 1000 IBD patients from the approximately 16,000 members and associates of the German Crohn's and Colitis Association.

Biopsychosocial determinants of health-related quality of life after ileal pouch anal anastomosis for ulcerative colitis.

Background: In patients with ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA) the influences of psychosocial variables and of extraintestinal manifestations of ulcerative colitis (UC) on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) have not been studied so far.

Methods: 61 patients with UC (age 52.7+/-13.

Validation of the German version of the Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire.

Objective: The Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire is an instrument for the assessment of health-related quality of life in patients with chronic liver diseases. So far it has not been validated for German speaking countries.

Methods: Two hundred and three consecutive patients with chronic liver diseases (age, 52.