Distress in patients with interstitial cystitis: Do illness representations have a role to play?

This study investigated the illness perceptions of patients with interstitial cystitis (IC) and their experience of psychological distress using the Revised Illness Perceptions Questionnaire (IPQ-R). The extent to which this measure adequately captures the illness representations of this group was also evaluated through semi-structured interviews. Forty-four patients with IC attending an out-patient clinic at a large UK hospital completed a questionnaire booklet comprising of the IPQ-R and the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28). Fifteen patients also took part in a follow-up interview. Pearson's correlation revealed that illness identity, consequences, illness coherence, emotional representations and psychological, risk factor and accident and injury attributions were associated with psychological distress. MANOVA analyses indicated that illness perceptions differed between severely and non-severely distressed patients, but not between patients with more or less severe symptoms. Moreover, the content analysis of patient interviews suggested that some aspects of the emotional experience of IC may not yet be adequately captured in the IPQ-R. Findings indicated that illness perceptions of patients' with IC are associated with psychological distress and the implications of this for further research and possible interventions are discussed.