Objective To analyze the psychological symptoms in patients with Crohn's disease, and to investigate the risk factors of anxiety and depression and its effect on health-related quality of life.

Methods A total of 100 patients with Crohn's disease from Feb. 2021 to Feb. 2022 in Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University were recruited. Demographics and disease characteristic informations of patients were collected. Self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), self-rating depression scale (SDS), a two-item patient-reported outcome (PRO2), inflammatory bowel disease quality of life questionnaire (IBDQ), and the functional assessment of chronic illness therapy-fatigue (FACIT-F) scale were used to estimate the psychological condition and quality of life of patients. Chi-square test and logistic regression were used to analyze the influencing factors of anxiety and depression, and independent sample t test was used to analyze the effect of anxiety and depression on IBDQ and FACIT-F scores in patients.

Results The incidences of anxiety and depression in CD patients were significantly higher than healthy controls (anxiety: 58.0% vs 9.4%, P < 0.001; depression: 43.0% vs 11.8%, P < 0.001). Female, extraintestinal manifestations, and disease activity were associated with anxiety, while higher degree of education and disease activity were associated with depression. IBDQ and FACIT-F scores were significantly lower in patients with anxiety and depression (P < 0.05).

Conclusions The incidences of anxiety and depression in patients with CD are significantly higher than those in the general population. The risk of anxiety and depression is closely related to disease activity, and CD patients with anxiety and depression are more likely to have fatigue and lower health-related quality of life.