OBJECTIVE: To identify the most common symptoms of depression in patients with idiopathic Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and to compare these symptoms of depression with those in patients without UC. METHOD: The sample consisted of 100 adults with Ulcerative Colitis attending the outpatient clinic for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases of the "Hospital das Clinicas" of the School of Medicine of the University of São Paulo, who were compared with 100 individuals without the disease. Following ethical procedures, each participant answered to the Beck Depression Inventory. RESULTS: Of the 21 symptoms of depression, six were statistically significant for distortion of body image, inability for work, fatigue, loss of appetite, somatic concerns, and decreased libido. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with UC had more somatic symptoms of depression than patients in the control group. Similarity of symptoms of UC with those of depression leads to under diagnosing patients with UC.
Proctocolitis; Depression; Chronic disease
