BACKGROUND & AIMS:

We aimed to assess levels of education attained, employment, and marital status of adults diagnosed with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) during childhood or adolescence, compared with healthy individuals in Canada.

METHODS:

We performed a cross-sectional study of adults diagnosed with IBD in childhood or adolescence at Children's Hospital in Winnipeg, Manitoba from January 1978 through December 2007. Participants (n = 112) answered a semi-structured questionnaire on educational achievements, employment, and marital status. Patients were matched for age and sex with random healthy individuals from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey (controls, 5 per patient). Conditional binary logistic regression and random-effects ordinal logistic regression models were used for analysis.

RESULTS:

Patients were followed for a mean duration of 14.3 years (range, 3.1-34.5 years). Persons with IBD were more likely to earn more money per annum and attain a post-secondary school degree or receive a diploma than controls (odds ratio, 1.72; 95% confidence interval, 1.13-2.60; P < .01 and odds ratio, 2.73; 95% confidence interval, 1.48-5.04; P < .01, respectively). There was no significant difference between patients and controls in employment or marital status.

CONCLUSIONS:

Adults diagnosed with IBD during childhood seem to achieve higher education levels than individuals without IBD. This observation should provide reassurance to children with IBD and their parents. ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT02152241.