ArticleDigestive diseases and sciences2026
Bidirectional Psychosocial Burden in Autoimmune Hepatitis: Mental Health, Caregiver Strain, and the Potential Role of Patient Advocacy Programming.
Article in Digestive diseases and sciences, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAutoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is associated with substantial psychosocial burden, yet mental health challenges remain poorly characterized and caregiver experience has not been systematically described.
aimsWe aimed to (1) characterize mental health burden among AIH patients; (2) provide the first systematic description of caregiver burden and unmet needs in AIH; (3) compare patient and caregiver intervention priorities; and (4) explore whether attendance at a disease-specific educational conference was associated with changes in self-reported psychological distress.
methodsPatients and caregivers attending the 2025 AIHA Patient Retreat completed an anonymous real-time survey (17 patient items; parallel caregiver items). A post-conference feedback survey captured retrospective pre/post-depression and anxiety self-ratings, analyzed as independent ordinal distributions using the Mann-Whitney U test given the absence of respondent-level pairing.
resultsSixty-eight patients and 28 caregivers completed the survey. Most patients (88%) reported depressive symptoms on self-report items; 52% reported moderate-to-high anxiety. A bidirectional relationship was identified: 68% reported AIH symptoms worsened mood and 53% reported emotional distress worsened physical symptoms. Despite this, 32% rarely or never sought mental healthcare, and only 5% turned to their hepatologist for support. Caregivers reported high confidence (78%) alongside meaningful personal cost: 39% reported physical health effects and 62% cited work/family balance as their greatest barrier. Both groups identified expanded behavioral health resources as their top unmet need (32.8% each). In a separate post-conference survey (n=51), self-reported depression and anxiety scores were significantly lower after than before the conference (both p<0.05).
conclusionAIH carries a substantial psychosocial burden affecting patients and caregivers. Both groups prioritize expanded mental health resources, and disease-specific community education may reduce psychological distress, warranting prospective evaluation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42686931What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.