Disease status, patient quality of life and healthcare resource use for ulcerative colitis in the UK: an observational study

Quality of Life of Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Bangladesh

Introduction The importance of maintaining quality of life in managing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has increased in recent years. However, there is a lack of studies examining the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of IBD patients in Bangladesh. Methodology This cross-sectional study was carried out in the IBD clinic, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) from 2020 to 2022. Data were collected from both ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) patients. HRQoL was recorded on the EuroQol 5 Dimension 5 Level (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaire. Statistical analysis was done by Statistical Analysis Software (SAS, SAS Institute, Cary, NC). Results The mean age was 36.3 years. The majority of the patients were male and had low incomes. People with more monthly income, more frequent relapse, extraintestinal involvement, and moderate to severe disease had lower utility index (p = 0.01, 0.01, 0.0004, and <0.0001, respectively). Among the five individual components, only usual activity was lower in UC patients (p = 0.03); all the other components and consequently the overall utility index did not vary between UC and CD. The visual analog scale (VAS) score seemed to be comparable in UC and CD patients. Conclusion In more severe and frequently relapsing cases of IBD, the utility index representing HRQoL was found to be lower. Comparatively, the HRQoL was mostly similar between patients with UC and CD. Additionally, the mean utility score in IBD patients was higher than that observed in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Bangladesh.

Patient-reported symptoms are a more reliable predictor of the societal burden compared to established physician-reported activity indices in inflammatory bowel disease: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

The societal burden of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) is not well documented, and further studies are needed to quantify the costs of the disease state. Thus, the aim was to estimate the societal burden and identify its predictors.

METHODS

A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study complemented by objective data from patient medical records was performed for patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC).

RESULTS

We analyzed data from 161 patients (CD: 102, UC: 59). The overall work impairment reached 15.4%, 11.2% vs. 28.8% without/with self-reported symptoms (p = 0.006). Daily activity impairment was 19.3%, 14.1% vs. 35.6% (p < 0.001). The disability pension rate was 28%, 23% vs. 44% (p = 0.012). The total productivity loss due to absenteeism, presenteeism, and disability amounted to 7,673 €/patient/year, 6,018 vs. 12,354 €/patient/year (p = 0.000). Out-of-pocket costs amounted to 562 €/patient/year, 472 vs. 844 €/patient/year (p = 0.001). Self-reported symptoms were the strongest predictor of costs (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

We found a high societal burden for IBD and a significant association between patient-reported disease symptoms and work disability, daily activity impairment, disability pensions, and out-of-pocket costs. Physician-reported disease activity is not a reliable predictor of costs except for out-of-pocket expenses.

Disease Activity and Health-related Quality of Life Relationships with Work Productivity in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis in OCTAVE Induction 1&2 and OCTAVE Sustain

BACKGROUND

Tofacitinib is an oral small molecule JAK inhibitor for the treatment of UC. We evaluated the relationship between Mayo/Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ) scores and Work Productivity and Activity ImpairmentUC (WPAI-UC) components in patients with UC.

METHODS

All available pooled data from three Phase 3 tofacitinib studies (OCTAVE Induction 1&2 and OCTAVE Sustain) were included. Relationships were estimated using repeated measures regression models with Mayo score/subscores or IBDQ total/domain scores as a separate anchor predictor and WPAI-UC components as the outcome.

RESULTS

Evidence for linear relationships was confirmed between Mayo/IBDQ scores and WPAI-UC components. Robust relationships between total Mayo score/IBDQ total score and WPAI-UC presenteeism, work productivity loss, and activity impairment were observed; relationships with absenteeism were weak. Total Mayo scores of 0 and 12 corresponded, on average, to WPAI-UC component scores of <15% and ≥60%, respectively, and IBDQ total scores of 224 and 32 corresponded, on average, to WPAIUC component scores of <6% and ≥90%, respectively. Presenteeism, work productivity loss, and activity impairment (all 0-100%), respectively, improved on average by 14.7, 13.6, and 16.4 percentage points for every 3-point improvement in total Mayo score, and by 8.1, 7.9, and 8.8 percentage points for every 16-point improvement in IBDQ total score.

CONCLUSION

Robust relationships between Mayo/IBDQ scores with WPAI-UC presenteeism, work productivity loss, and activity impairment suggest that patient productivity and nonwork activities are strongly associated with disease activity and HRQoL. The weak relationships with absenteeism suggest that patients attend work regardless of their disease activity/poor HRQoL.

Development and test-retest reliability of a new, self-report questionnaire assessing healthcare use and personal costs in people with inflammatory bowel disease: the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Resource Use Questionnaire (IBD-RUQ)

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The increasing prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) poses a substantial economic burden globally on health systems and societies. Validated instruments to collect data on healthcare and other service utilisation by patients with IBD are lacking. We developed a self-report patient questionnaire to capture key resource utilisation from health services, patient and societal perspectives.

METHODS

The IBD Resource Use Questionnaire (IBD-RUQ), developed by a multidisciplinary team, including patients, comprises 102 items across the six categories of outpatient visits, diagnostics, medication, hospitalisations, employment and out-of-pocket expenses over the past three months. The test-retest reliability of the IBD-RUQ was studied by administering it twice among patients with IBD with a 2-week time gap. The intraclass correlation coefficients and the average cost from the healthcare, societal and patient perspectives, between test and retest assessments, overall and by service category, were summarised.

RESULTS

The IBD-RUQ captures health service use, employment and out-of-pocket expenses. Of 55 patients who completed the first questionnaire, 48 completed the retest questionnaires and were included in the analyses. Test-retest reliability for categories of medications, diagnostics, specialist outpatient and inpatient services, and days off work due to IBD ranged from moderate to excellent; primary care visits showed more limited reliability. The annualised average self-reported health service, out-of-pocket and loss of productivity costs were £4844, £320 and £545 per patient, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The IBD-RUQ is a reliable and valid self-report measure of resource utilisation in adults with IBD and can be used to measure costs associated with IBD.

Effect of golimumab on health-related quality of life, other patient-reported outcomes and healthcare resource utilization in patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis: a real-world multicenter, noninterventional, observational study in Greece

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

This real-world study assessed the impact of golimumab on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and other patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in patients with ulcerative colitis over 12 months in Greece.

METHODS

GO-LIFE was a noninterventional, prospective, multicenter, 12-month study. Patients who had moderately-to-severely active ulcerative colitis were naïve to antitumor necrosis factor (anti-TNFα) therapy and had failed previous conventional therapy. Patients received golimumab as per label. The primary endpoint was patients achieving inflammatory bowel disease questionnaire 32-item (IBDQ-32) remission at 12 months. Secondary endpoints, at 6 and 12 months, included patients achieving IBDQ-32 response; the mean change in the treatment satisfaction questionnaire for medication (TSQM) and the work productivity and activity impairment in ulcerative colitis (WPAI:UC) questionnaires; changes in healthcare utilization; patients achieving clinical response and remission; adherence rates and the percentage of patients who discontinued golimumab.

RESULTS

IBDQ-32 remission was achieved by 76.9% of patients at 12 months. Mean changes in all TSQM and WPAI:UC domain scores at 12 months were statistically significant. Clinical remission was achieved by 49.4 and 50.6% of patients at 6 and 12 months, and clinical response by 59.3 and 56.8%, respectively. All patients but one (80/81) had high adherence (≥80%) to golimumab treatment over 12 months. Ulcerative colitis-related health care resource utilization was reduced during the follow-up period.

CONCLUSIONS

In real-world settings, treatment with golimumab resulted in meaningful improvements in HRQoL and other PROs, and in disease activity at 6 and 12 months in patients with moderately-to-severely active ulcerative colitis who were naïve to anti-TNFa therapy.

Patient Preference and Adherence to Aminosalicylates for the Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disorder that requires sustained treatment for optimal outcomes. The 5-aminosalicylate (5-ASA) class of medications are first-line for the treatment of mild-to-moderate UC but suffer from suboptimal adherence rates in real-world settings. This review summarizes the literature on adherence and patient preference to 5-ASA in patients with UC. We begin by highlighting key studies that measure real-world adherence rates, as well as some of the pitfalls associated with certain techniques. We examine the data on the consequences of non-adherence, which range from decreased quality of life and higher risk of colorectal cancer at the individual level to increased costs to the overall healthcare system. We then turn to the reasons and risk factors for non-adherence and summarize the current understanding of the barriers towards adherence. Afterwards, we describe the research on patient preferences between 5-ASA formulations and dosing regimen. Finally, we summarize the evidence regarding interventions to improve 5-ASA adherence. While adherence remains a challenge in practice, understanding the current state of the field can better inform future efforts towards increasing adherence, and thus clinical outcomes, in UC.

Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients With Different Diseases Measured With the EQ-5D-5L: A Systematic Review

Background: The EQ-5D-5L is a generic preference-based questionnaire developed by the EuroQol Group to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in 2005. Since its development, it has been increasingly applied in populations with various diseases and has been found to have good reliability and sensitivity. This study aimed to summarize the health utility elicited from EQ-5D-5L for patients with different diseases in cross-sectional studies worldwide.

Methods: Web of Science, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched from January 1, 2012, to October 31, 2019. Cross-sectional studies reporting utility values measured with the EQ-5D-5L in patients with any specific disease were eligible. The language was limited to English. Reference lists of the retrieved studies were manually searched to identify more studies that met the inclusion criteria. Methodological quality was assessed with the Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ) checklist. In addition, meta-analyses were performed for utility values of any specific disease reported in three or more studies.

Results: In total, 9,400 records were identified, and 98 studies met the inclusion criteria. In the included studies, 50 different diseases and 98,085 patients were analyzed. Thirty-five studies involving seven different diseases were included in meta-analyses. The health utility ranged from 0.31 to 0.99 for diabetes mellitus [meta-analysis random-effect model (REM): 0.83, (95% CI = 0.77–0.90); fixed-effect model (FEM): 0.93 (95% CI = 0.93–0.93)]; from 0.62 to 0.90 for neoplasms [REM: 0.75 (95% CI = 0.68–0.82); FEM: 0.80 (95% CI = 0.78–0.81)]; from 0.56 to 0.85 for cardiovascular disease [REM: 0.77 (95% CI = 0.75–0.79); FEM: 0.76 (95% CI = 0.75–0.76)]; from 0.31 to 0.78 for multiple sclerosis [REM: 0.56 (95% CI = 0.47–0.66); FEM: 0.67 (95% CI = 0.66–0.68)]; from 0.68 to 0.79 for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [REM: 0.75 (95% CI = 0.71–0.80); FEM: 0.76 (95% CI = 0.75–0.77)] from 0.65 to 0.90 for HIV infection [REM: 0.84 (95% CI = 0.80–0.88); FEM: 0.81 (95% CI = 0.80–0.82)]; from 0.37 to 0.89 for chronic kidney disease [REM: 0.70 (95% CI = 0.48–0.92; FEM: 0.76 (95% CI = 0.74–0.78)].

Conclusions: EQ-5D-5L is one of the most widely used preference-based measures of HRQoL in patients with different diseases worldwide. The variation of utility values for the same disease was influenced by the characteristics of patients, the living environment, and the EQ-5D-5L value set.

Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42020158694.

Full, Partial, and Modified Permutations of the Mayo Score: Characterizing Clinical and Patient-Reported Outcomes in Ulcerative Colitis Patients

Background

Understanding ulcerative colitis disease activity assessed via the full, modified, or partial Mayo Score may help clinicians apply results from clinical trials to practice and facilitate interpretation of recent and older studies.

Methods

Mayo Score variables were assessed in a cross-sectional study of 2608 ulcerative colitis patients.

Results

Permutations of Mayo Scores were highly correlated, and models predicting the omitted variable from each permutation demonstrated significant agreement between predicted and observed values.

Conclusions

Partial/modified Mayo Scores may be used to predict endoscopic and Physician's Global Assessment scores, and serve as proxies for the full Mayo Score in clinical practice/trials.

Living with Ulcerative Colitis Study (LUCY) in England: a retrospective study evaluating healthcare resource utilisation and direct healthcare costs of postoperative care in ulcerative colitis

Objective

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a lifelong, relapsing-remitting disease. Patients non-responsive to pharmacological treatment may require a colectomy. We estimated pre-colectomy and post-colectomy healthcare resource utilisation (HCRU) and costs in England.

Design/Method

A retrospective, longitudinal cohort study indexing adult patients with UC undergoing colectomy (2009–2015), using linked Clinical Practice Research Datalink/Hospital Episode Statistics data, was conducted. HCRU, healthcare costs and pharmacological treatments were evaluated during 12 months prior to and including colectomy (baseline) and 24 months post-colectomy (follow-up; F-U), comparing baseline/F-U, emergency/elective colectomy and subtotal/full colectomy using descriptive statistics and paired/unpaired tests.

Results

249 patients from 26 165 identified were analysed including 145 (58%) elective and 184 (74%) full colectomies. Number/cost of general practitioner consultations increased post-colectomy (p<0.001), and then decreased at 13–24 months (p<0.05). From baseline to F-U, the number of outpatient visits, number/cost of hospitalisations and total direct healthcare costs decreased (all p<0.01). Postoperative HCRU was similar between elective and emergency colectomies, except for the costs of colectomy-related hospitalisations and medication, which were lower in the elective group (p<0.05). Postoperative costs were higher for subtotal versus full colectomies (p<0.001). At 1–12 month F-U, 30%, 19% and 5% of patients received aminosalicylates, steroids and immunosuppressants, respectively.

Conclusion

HCRU/costs increased for primary care in the first year post-colectomy but decreased for secondary care, and varied according to the colectomy type. Ongoing and potentially unnecessary pharmacological therapy was seen in up to 30% of patients. These findings can inform patients and decision-makers of potential benefits and burdens of colectomy in UC.

The Impossible QALY and the Denial of Fundamental Measurement: Rejecting the University of Washington Value Assessment of Targeted Immune Modulators (TIMS) in Ulcerative Colitis for the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER)

All too often organizations embrace standards for health technology assessment that fail to meet the standards of normal science. A continuing puzzle is why the axioms of fundamental measurement are ignored by researchers such as the University of Washington Model Group in constructing lifetime cost-per-QALY claims. The University of Washington Model Group is not alone; it is an accepted article of faith that multiattribute utility scales can be manipulated as if they had ratio scale properties, which they do not. This commitment to pseudoscientific claims, embracing intelligent design rather than natural selection, is endorsed by professional groups such as ISPOR as well as by self-appointed arbiters of value assessment such as ICER. Perhaps the answer is peer pressure rather than ignorance of the axioms of fundamental measurement. More to the point, if you have been an advocate of imaginary simulations a Damascene epiphany creates both psychological and professional challenges. After all, if cost-per-QALY constructs are rejected, then it is difficult to see what options there are for those attempting to model cost-effectiveness claims. If it is just ignorance of the axioms of fundamental measurement then a reasonable question is why these axioms, readily available on any number of internet sites, are ignored in health technology assessment programs. The purpose of this commentary is to review the ICER September 11th 2020 evidence report in ulcerative colitis, with particular reference to ICER's responses to questions raised in the public comment period on the measurement properties (or their absence) for utility scales; in this context the EQ-5D instruments. The critique pointed out that the utility scores had ordinal properties. ICER, without proof, disputed this statement asserting that health economists believed (or assumed) they were ratio scales. This is nonsensical. ICER has two options: first, to continue to believe that the EQ-5D instruments had ratio properties or second, to acknowledge that they indeed only had ordinal properties, rejecting their many modeled claims for pricing and access. Not surprisingly, the possibility of a Damascene epiphany was rejected. ICER maintained its assertion that health economists, presumably all of them, believe or possibly just assume for analytical convenience that the EQ-5D-3L and similar measures are in fact on a ratio scale. This introduces a new concept in fundamental measurement: a ratio scale without a true zero but with negative values. ICER is quite prepared to admit that negative I-QALYs are possible and their lifetime cost-per-incremental I-QALY modelling can yield negative I-QALYs.

Predictors of health-related quality of life in patients with moderate to severely active ulcerative colitis receiving biological therapy

Background and aims: Patients with ulcerative colitis have reduced health-related quality of life compared to the general population. Current treatment strategy aims to reduce patients' symptoms and increase health-related quality of life. We investigated which symptoms of ulcerative colitis correlate to decreased health-related quality of life.Methods: Among 743 patients with moderate to severely active ulcerative colitis receiving biological therapy in a cross-sectional national study, we determined which disease-related symptoms, as measured by the Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index, worsened health-related quality of life scores across the Short Health Scale dimensions, while adjusting for treatment, age, and clinical manifestation, and stratifying for sex, by means of multiple linear regression.Results: Patients with active disease had decreased health-related quality of life compared to those with inactive disease (median 5.8 (range 4.5-7.5) vs. 2 (0.8-3.3)). Both sexes had decreased health-related quality of life in all dimensions for the symptoms: bowel frequency during daytime (0.37-0.86 and 0.46-0.84), urgency of defecation (0.54-0.79 and 0.49-0.65) and blood in stool (0.50-0.75 and 0.36-0.54) for men and women respectively. Women were more often negatively affected by bowel frequency during night-time (4 domains vs. 1) and arthritis (5 domains vs. 3). In non-stratified analysis female sex is an independent predictor of lower health-related quality of life for 3 domains (0.38-0.53).Conclusions: Health-related quality of life was most prominently associated with bowel frequency during daytime, urgency of defecation, and blood in stool. Other symptoms associated for some health-related quality of life dimensions, and appear to vary between the sexes.

Living with ulcerative colitis in Germany: a retrospective analysis of dose escalation, concomitant treatment use and healthcare costs

Aims: To investigate treatment of moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis (UC) using real-world German health insurance claims data.Materials and methods: A retrospective, longitudinal cohort study was conducted from a German statutory health insurance database for adult patients with UC indexed on biologic therapy initiation (2013-2015). Anonymized data were evaluated for 12 months prior to (baseline) through 24 months after (follow-up) indexing. Biologic dose escalations, steroid and immunosuppressant use, healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and direct healthcare costs were evaluated, with significant differences assessed across and between index biologics. Descriptive statistics, chi-square or Fisher's exact tests, and analysis of variance were performed.Results: The analysis included 304 patients (adalimumab, n = 125; golimumab, n = 47; infliximab, n = 114; vedolizumab, n = 18). Demographic and clinical characteristics were similar across biologics. Dose escalations occurred in 58% of patients (73% of patients receiving adalimumab), with 41% receiving subsequent de-escalation. Steroids were used during follow-up by 74% of patients; 25% received steroids >14 weeks after indexing. Overall, 41% of patients received an immunosuppressant during follow-up. Steroid and immunosuppressant use were similar across biologics. Total direct healthcare costs were higher during follow-up than baseline and differed significantly across treatments (p < .05), with highest costs for golimumab. Biologic costs contributed to a major portion of follow-up costs. HCRU and costs for most resources were higher in the first 12-month follow-up period than baseline. All resource use except gastroenterology visits returned to, or below, baseline levels 13-24 months post-index date.Limitations: There was potential for inappropriate inclusion/exclusion due to miscoding. Patients may have received biologics >12 months prior to the index date. Biologic originators and biosimilars could not be differentiated.Conclusions: These data suggest that control with current biologics is suboptimal. Further treatment options that provide sustained steroid-free remission for this patient population without the need for dose escalations or concomitant therapies may be warranted.

The association between disease activity and patient-reported outcomes in patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis in the United States and Europe

Background

Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) experience periods of recurring and episodic clinical signs and symptoms. This study sought to establish the association between disease activity and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and other patient-reported outcomes.

Methods

United States (US) and European Union 5 ([EU5]; i.e., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) data from the 2015 and 2017 Adelphi Inflammatory Bowel Disease-Specific Programme (IBD-DSP) were used. The IBD-DSP is a database of retrospective patient chart information integrated with patient survey data (EuroQoL-5 Dimensions [EQ-5D], Short Quality of Life in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire [SIBDQ], and Work Productivity and Activity Impairment-Ulcerative Colitis [WPAI-UC] questionnaire).

Using available chart information, physicians classified their moderate-to-severe patients into one of the following categories: remission with a Mayo endoscopic score = 0 (“deep remission”), remission without a Mayo endoscopic score = 0 (“remission”), or active disease. Differences among disease activity categories with respect to patient-reported outcomes were analyzed using generalized linear models, controlling for confounding variables.

Results

N = 289 and N = 1037 patient charts with linked surveys were included from the US and EU5, respectively. The disease activity distribution was as follows: active disease = 40.1% (US) and 33.6% (EU5); remission = 48.0 and 53.0%; deep remission = 11.9 and 13.3%. Patients with active disease reported significantly lower levels of EQ-5D health state utilities (adjusted mean [AdjM] = 0.87 [US] and 0.78 [EU5]) compared with remission (AdjM = 0.92 and 0.91) and deep remission (AdjM = 0.93 and 0.91) (all P < 0.05 compared with active disease within each region). Similar findings were observed with the scores from the SIBDQ and the WPAI-UC. No significant differences were observed between remission categories.

Conclusions

Among patients with moderate-to-severe UC in the US and EU5, active disease was associated with significant impairments in HRQoL, work and leisure activities. These results reinforce the importance, to both the patient and society, of achieving some level of remission to restore generic and disease-related HRQoL and one’s ability to work productively.

Tofacitinib for the treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis: a systematic review, network meta-analysis and economic evaluation

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

In the UK, treatments for patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis who have an inadequate response to conventional therapies comprise four biological therapies-the tumour necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) agents adalimumab, golimumab and infliximab and the anti-integrin vedolizumab-and an orally administered small molecule therapy, tofacitinib. However, there have been few head-to-head studies of these therapies. This study aimed to compare the clinical and cost-effectiveness of tofacitinib with biological therapies.

METHODS

A systematic literature review was conducted to identify all relevant randomised controlled trial (RCT) evidence. Clinical response, clinical remission and serious infection rates were synthesised using network meta-analysis (NMA). The results were used to compare the cost-effectiveness of tofacitinib and biologics with conventional therapy, using a Markov model, which incorporated lifetime costs and consequences of treatment from a UK National Health Service perspective. Analyses were conducted separately for TNFi-naïve and TNFi-exposed populations.

RESULTS

Seventeen RCTs were used in the NMAs. There were no statistically significant differences among biological therapies and tofacitinib for either TNFi-naïve or TNFi-exposed patients. In TNFi-naïve patients, all therapies were more efficacious than placebo. In TNFi-exposed patients, only tofacitinib was significantly more efficacious than placebo as induction therapy, and only tofacitinib and vedolizumab were significantly more efficacious than placebo as maintenance therapies. There were no significant differences in serious infection rates among therapies. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios for tofacitinib versus conventional therapy were £21 338 and £22 816 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) in the TNFi-naïve and TNFi-exposed populations, respectively. TNFi therapies were dominated or extendedly dominated in both populations. Compared with vedolizumab, tofacitinib was associated with a similar number of QALYs, at a lower cost.

CONCLUSION

Tofacitinib is an efficacious treatment for moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis and is likely to be a cost-effective use of NHS resources.

Psychometric validation of the work productivity and activity impairment questionnaire in ulcerative colitis: results from a systematic literature review

Patients with ulcerative colitis, a type of inflammatory bowel disease, report negative impacts of disease symptoms on work-related outcomes, including absenteeism and presenteeism. As a way to better understand the impact of this disease and its treatment on work-related outcomes, the current review examines the use of the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire (WPAI), a patient-reported outcomes measure of absenteeism, presenteeism, and impairment in other activities, in studies of patients with ulcerative colitis. This review assesses the measurement properties of the WPAI in this patient population: its reliability, construct validity, ability to detect change, and responsiveness to effective treatments. Relevant data were extracted from 13 sources (journal articles and conference posters) identified following a systematic review of the published and gray literature. The evidence supports the WPAI as having test-retest reliability (reproducibility) over time; convergent validity, as indicated by moderate correlations with measures of quality of life and moderate-to-strong correlations with measures of disease activity; known-groups validity, as indicated by differences in WPAI scores between patients with active and inactive disease; ability (sensitivity) to detect change, as indicated by substantial improvement in scores for patients who achieve remission, accompanied by substantial worsening of scores for patients who relapse; and, responsiveness to treatment, with improvements in scores following treatments that reduce disease activity. Limitations included a lack of available evidence from randomized-controlled trials that could speak more directly to the WPAI's responsiveness to treatment. In conclusion, we recommend the use of the WPAI for measuring work outcomes in both observational studies and interventional trials that include patients with ulcerative colitis.