How Much Is Crohn’s Disease Affecting Your Life?

The symptoms of Crohn’s disease can interfere with just about every aspect of your life — from your job to your social life to your finances. But sometimes, it can be hard to see past the physical symptoms and realize that you deserve to live an active, full life.

“Your quality of life is important and should be assessed at all visits,” says Reezwana Chowdhury, MD, a gastroenterologist and assistant professor of medicine in the gastroenterology department at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Take this quiz to determine whether your symptoms are having an impact on your quality of life, and what you can do to fix it.

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Additional Sources

Addressing Poor Sleep Quality to Improve IBD Health Outcomes. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. August 26, 2020.
Chen J, et al. Associations Between Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Social Isolation, and Mortality: Evidence from a Longitudinal Cohort Study. Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology. September 2022.
Diet, Culture, and Your Body. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.
Employee and Employer Resources. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.
Employment and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. July 2015.
IBD and Fatigue. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.
IBD and Mental Health: Healing Beyond the Gut. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. May 14, 2025.
Lichtenstein GR et al. Lifetime Economic Burden of Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis by Age at Diagnosis. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. April 2020.
Living With Crohn’s Disease. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. October 2018.
Managing Fatigue With IBD. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.
Mental Health and IBD: Depression and Anxiety. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.
Mental Health and Wellbeing. Crohn’s & Colitis UK. January 2025.
Polak EJ et al. Perceptions Of IBD Within Patient and Community Samples: A Systematic Review. Psychology & Health. April 2020.
Navigating Daily Life With IBD. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.
Sex and Sexual Health. Crohn’s & Colitis UK. December 2025.
Simons M et al. From Food Fears to Food Freedom: How Do We Best Manage Restrictive Eating in Inflammatory Bowel Disease? Crohn’s & Colitis 360. April 2025.
Sofia MA et al. Poor Sleep Quality in Crohn’s Disease Is Associated With Disease Activity and Risk for Hospitalization or Surgery. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. December 2019.
Stress and IBD: Breaking the Vicious Cycle. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. August 7, 2024.
Supporting Someone With Crohn’s or Colitis. Crohn’s & Colitis UK. November 2025.
Tips for Requesting IBD Work Accommodations. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.

Yuying Luo, MD

Medical Reviewer

Yuying Luo, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine at Mount Sinai West and Morningside in New York City. She aims to deliver evidence-based, patient-centered, and holistic care for her patients.

Her clinical and research focus includes patients with disorders of gut-brain interaction such as irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia; patients with lower gastrointestinal motility (constipation) disorders and defecatory and anorectal disorders (such as dyssynergic defecation); and women’s gastrointestinal health.

She graduated from Harvard with a bachelor's degree in molecular and cellular biology and received her MD from the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. She completed her residency in internal medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she was also chief resident. She completed her gastroenterology fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital and was also chief fellow.

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Erin Coakley

Author

Erin guides editorial direction and content for custom projects. Before joining Everyday Health, she was associate editor at dLife, an online resource for people managing diabetes. Erin majored in English with a minor in psychology at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. Outside of work she enjoys reading, going to concerts, traveling, and working out. She recently did 867 pushups in an hour to help send children with serious illnesses to camp.

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