For the fifth consecutive year, Health Union has surveyed people across the country living with inflammatory bowel disease to understand the real impact of this condition. Inflammatory Bowel Disease In America, a syndicated research study from Health Union, goes beyond basic demographics and symptoms, diving into the holistic patient journey, and tracking trends over time.

This year’s results show that for people living with IBD, symptoms regularly impact daily life, with 87% of respondents experiencing fatigue/low energy, and 82% experiencing abdominal cramping and/or pain. Half of respondents experience IBD symptoms 15+ days per month, and 54% note that IBD impacts their mental health.*

Base=All; Crohn’s disease and Crohn’s colitis, n=697; ulcerative colitis, n=412; other type of IBD, n=151
*Top 2 box on a 7-pt scale

In open-ended responses, people expressed that IBD is more than just “tummy troubles”:

“About 80% of my life I can function normally, with no medications or severe symptoms keeping me in bed; however, I still feel exhausted and fatigued every day. I can go to work feeling awful, but is that ok? I have a difficult time knowing whether to talk about it as much as it affects me (which is every day) or just live with it.”
– survey respondent living with IBD

“Medication commercials make me mad, it’s more than tummy troubles. These ads are a great way for universal understanding of IBD, but give the public the impression it’s nothing but tummy troubles. It’s so so much more!”
– survey respondent living with IBD