Reducing Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety in Adolescents With Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Order to Improve Quality of Life and the Clinical Course of Disease.

1. Objective: The primary objective is to determine the efficacy of a disease specific cognitive behavioral therapy program in adolescents with IBD and increased symptoms of depression or anxiety on reducing symptoms of depression. Secondary objectives are to assess the effect of the CBT program on a) the clinical course of disease b) reducing symptoms of anxiety, and c) improving quality of life. We also aim to identify psychosocial and medical factors that predict or moderate the treatment response to CBT in adolescent with IBD.
2. Study design: The presented study is a multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT), involving CBT versus care as usual (CAU), in young IBD patients with increased symptoms of self-reported depression or anxiety. There will be three follow-up moments, after 3 months or after the intervention and after 6 and 12 months.
3. Study population: Patients with IBD between 10-25 years and increased symptoms of depression or anxiety. We aim to include 100 patients, from which 50 patients will be randomized to the treatment condition (CBT and CAU) and 50 to the control group (CAU).
4. Intervention: A disease specific CBT program called PASCET-PI. The control group (CAU),will receive routine medical treatment (thus no additional psychosocial intervention) and will maintain their regular follow up visits at the gastroenterologist every 3 months.
5. Main study endpoints: Main outcome is reduction in symptoms of depression. Important secondary outcomes are the presence of clinical relapse and reduction of symptoms of anxiety. Other secondary outcomes, amongst others, are IBD activity scores, quality of life, psychosocial functioning, and adherence to medical treatment.
6. Nature and extent of the burden and risks associated with participation, benefit and group relatedness: At first, patients with IBD 10 -25 years of age will be screened for symptoms of depression and anxiety at T1. Patients with increased symptoms of self-reported depression or anxiety (scoring above an age and gender specific cut-off score for increased depressive or anxiety symptoms) are asked to participate in the RCT. For all included patients, 4 study visits will take place, these will be combined with regular checkup visits at the gastroenterologist. Questionnaires will need to be filled in online, taking approximately 1.5 hour per assessment for patients and approximately 1 hour per assessment for parents. At baseline a psychiatric assessment interview will be executed by an independent research clinical psychologist by phone (20 minutes). The same research clinical psychologist will conduct a short psychiatric assessment interview at the follow up visits 10minutes). At baseline and after 3 months blood samples (when patients undergo routine venous punctures) will be drawn.

For patients in the CBT group, 13 sessions (6 outpatient sessions, 7 by phone) and three parental sessions will take place in a hospital close to their home. Our study population consists of adolescents and young adults with IBD, as this is a specific group with high reported symptoms of depression and anxiety, therefore they will most likely benefit from the intervention. The risks associated with participation can be considered negligible and the burden minimal. For the time investment of completing the questionnaires participants will receive an incentive of 25 euro after the final assessment, which will be communicated at the start.