(HealthDay)—There is a high prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to a review published online March 12 in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.

Brigida Barberio, M.D., from the University of Padova in Italy, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of data from studies of ≥100 adult patients with IBD that reported on the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety or depression.

Based on 77 eligible studies (30,118 patients), the researchers found that overall, the pooled prevalence of anxiety symptoms was 32.1 percent in 58 studies; the pooled prevalence of depression symptoms was 25.2 percent in 75 studies. Among studies that reported prevalence of anxiety or depression in patients with Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis, patients with Crohn disease had higher odds of anxiety symptoms (odds ratio, 1.2; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.1 to 1.4) and depression symptoms (odds ratio, 1.2; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.1 to 1.4) compared with patients with ulcerative colitis. Women were more likely than men with IBD to have symptoms of anxiety (pooled prevalence: 33.8 percent for women versus 22.8 percent for men; odds ratio, 1.7; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.2 to 2.3). Women were also more likely than men to have symptoms of depression (pooled prevalence: 21.2 percent for women versus 16.2 percent for men; odds ratio, 1.3; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.0 to 1.8).

"Encouraging gastroenterologists to screen for and treat these disorders might improve outcomes for patients with IBD," the authors write.

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