Impact of pediatric versus adult diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease on achievement of health care autonomy in emerging adults: a cross-sectional study

Fuente: PubMed "wine"
Crohns Colitis 360. 2026 Jul 14;8(3):otag078. doi: 10.1093/crocol/otag078. eCollection 2026 Jul.ABSTRACTINTRODUCTION: Emerging adulthood (ages 18-25) involves significant changes, made more challenging for those with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), especially when transitioning from pediatric to adult care. Research has focused on transition readiness, with less attention to patient-prioritized outcomes after transfer. Less is also known about those diagnosed during emerging adulthood, who must navigate a new diagnosis and disease management. This study estimated the prevalence of behaviors reflecting health care autonomy among emerging adults with IBD, comparing pediatric- and adult-diagnosed cases.METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, emerging adults with IBD in Alberta, Canada completed a questionnaire assessing IBD knowledge, self-management, relationship with their IBD care team, and disease management. Participants were grouped as pediatric-diagnosed (<18 years) or adult-diagnosed (18-25 years). Descriptive and comparative analyses were conducted.RESULTS: Among 178 participants (122 pediatric-diagnosed; 56 adult-diagnosed), pediatric-diagnosed cases were younger on average than adult-diagnosed cases (21.0 vs. 22.2 years), with similar distributions of gender, ethnicity and disease type. IBD knowledge scores, relationship ratings, and medication adherence scores were similar between groups. Pediatric-diagnosed cases were less independent than adult-diagnosed cases in some self-management tasks, including scheduling visits (72.6% vs. 92.9%), contacting their care team (76.0% vs. 94.6%), calling in medication refills (75.5% vs. 90.7%), and preparing questions for providers (63.3% vs. 79.3%).CONCLUSION: Pediatric-diagnosed cases demonstrated similar IBD knowledge, medication adherence, and satisfaction with their care team, but were less independent in some self-management tasks compared to adult-diagnosed cases. These findings highlight the need for targeted education and support for emerging adults with IBD.PMID:42528824 | PMC:PMC13415457 | DOI:10.1093/crocol/otag078