The SCCAI and Mayo Endoscopic Severity Scores Are Positively Correlated with QIDS-SR16 Depression Scores in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis

Ziqi Yang,1,* Shu Pang,1,* Chunyan Jiang,1 Ye Zong2– 4 1Department of General Medicine, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Gastroenterology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 4Beijing Key Laboratory for Early Gastrointestinal Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy, Beijing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Chunyan Jiang, Email [email protected] Ye Zong, Email [email protected]: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is often accompanied by depressive symptoms, yet the association between disease activity and depression remains insufficiently characterized.Objective: To evaluate the correlations between SCCAI scores, Mayo endoscopic severity scores, and QIDS-SR16 depression scores in patients with UC.Methods: This cross-sectional study included 106 hospitalized UC patients from January 2023 to December 2024. Disease activity was assessed using the Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index (SCCAI), and endoscopic severity was assessed with the Mayo score in a subsample (n = 54). Depressive symptoms were evaluated using QIDS-SR16. Multivariable linear regression and restricted cubic spline models were applied to examine linear and nonlinear associations.Results: A 1-point increase in SCCAI score was associated with a 0.41-point increase in QIDS-SR16 score (β = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.19– 0.63, P < 0.001). A 1-point increase in the Mayo score corresponded to a 1.07-point increase in QIDS-SR16 (β = 1.07, 95% CI: 0.24– 1.90, P = 0.015). Restricted cubic spline analysis revealed a nonlinear association between SCCAI and QIDS-SR16, with greater sensitivity of depressive symptoms at lower SCCAI levels.Conclusion: In this cross-sectional real-world study, both clinical disease activity (SCCAI) and endoscopic severity (Mayo score) were independently and positively correlated with depressive symptom burden in UC patients. These findings support incorporating routine depression screening into UC clinical management to facilitate timely detection and intervention.Keywords: ulcerative colitis, SCCAI, mayo score, depressive symptoms, QIDS-SR16