Risk for Psychiatric Disorders Begins to Increase Before Diagnosis of IBD

TUESDAY, Aug. 11, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have an increased risk for psychiatric disorders from two to three years before diagnosis to 10 years after, according to a study published online Aug. 5 in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Jiangwei Sun, Ph.D., from Sun Yat-Sen University in Shenzhen, China, and colleagues examined the temporal pattern of psychiatric disorder risk elevation before and after IBD diagnosis. Swedish patients with IBD diagnosed from 2007 to 2023 were compared to reference individuals in a matched population-based cohort and with IBD-free full siblings in a sibling-controlled cohort; the study included 43,862 patients with IBD and 178,821 reference individuals.

The researchers found that the hazard ratio (HR) for any psychiatric disorder started to increase from two to three years before diagnosis of IBD (HR, 1.15 at −2.0 years), peaked immediately after diagnosis (HR, 1.50 at 0.5 years), and then decreased rapidly; risk remained elevated at 10 years after diagnosis (HR, 1.19). Major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and substance misuse were the main drivers of the increased HR. For psychotic disorders, personality disorders, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, no increase was observed; patients with IBD were more likely to have autism spectrum disorders soon after diagnosis and eating disorders from five years onward. Temporal HR patterns were similar for all subtypes of IBD. In the sibling-controlled cohort, similar risk increases for psychiatric disorders were seen.

“Our findings highlight the need to raise mental health awareness and to integrate psychological care into IBD management, with extended attention to multiple disorders starting from the IBD diagnostic workup,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text