Longitudinal Changes in Symptom Cluster Membership in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

The final analysed sample was 5,296 from a cohort of 14,143; 7,172 were excluded for missing symptom data. All participants missing symptom data on the 6-month survey belonged to the baseline high symptom burden group (n = 59). The sample was an online convenience cohort and was overrepresented by non-Hispanic White, highly educated females, limiting generalizability. IBD diagnosis and disease activity were self-reported, not measured by objective methods such as endoscopy. People with ostomies or j-pouches were excluded, so the findings may not apply to them. Symptoms were measured only every 6 months, were dichotomised at a cut-off t-score of 50, and were measured unidimensionally, so small changes, daily variation and richer symptom experience may have been missed. Repeated self-report surveys may have produced panel conditioning, so apparent stability may partly reflect unchanged responses rather than true symptom stability.

The paper lists NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support. No author conflicts of interest or commercial funding are stated in the supplied text.

Do not conclude that achieving remission will usually relieve IBD symptoms. In this cohort, entering remission was associated with some movement out of the high symptom burden group, but only 32 participants who transitioned from active disease into remission changed symptom cluster membership.