Short name of research group: Gastrointestinal Diseases
Contact person for group: Lesley Graff, Ph.D.
Email address:
Main Research Projects or Interests:
1. Biological, clinical and psychosocial determinants of health outcomes in inflammatory bowel disease.
Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
Department members affiliated with project: Lesley Graff, Ph.D., John R. Walker, Ph.D.
Collaborators/Coinvestigator from outside the department: University of Manitoba, Faculty of Medicine: Charles Bernstein, M.D. (Principal investigator), James Blanchard, M.D., William Leslie M.D., Ian Clara, Ph.D., Lisa Lix Ph.D., Kathy Vagianos, M.Sc., Kathryn Sexton PhD (postdoctoral fellow)
Research staff: Linda Rogala, R.N., Noreen Miller, R.N., Clove Haviva MA
2. Understanding patients’ disease experience: a guide to disease management in IBD.
Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
Department members affiliated with project:
Lesley Graff, Ph.D. (Principal Investigator), John R. Walker, Ph.D.
Collaborators/Coinvestigators from outside the department: University of Manitoba, Faculty of Medicine: Charles Bernstein, M.D. (Principal investigator), Laura Targownik, M.D., Gayle Restall, Ph.D., Lisa Lx Ph.D., Jamie Blanchard M.D., Kathryn Sexton Ph.D. (postdoctoral fellow), Manitoba Research Data Centre - Ian Clara Ph.D.
Research staff: Norine Miller, RN
3. Celiac disease, mucosal recovery and quality of life
Funded by Canadian Association of Gastroenterology/CIHR fellowship & Canadian Institutes of Health Research/Manitoba Health Research Council Regional Partnership Program
Department members affiliated with project: Lesley Graff Ph.D., John R Walker Ph.D.
Collaborators/con-investigators from outside the department: University of Manitoba, Faculty of Medicine: Don Duerksen (Principal Investigator), D. Parry M.D., Manitoba Research Data Centre Ian Clara Ph.D.; Harvard Medical School: Jocelyn Sylvester M.D. (Principal Investigator); Cieran Kelly M.D.
4. Psychological factors, menstrual cycle and GI symptoms in pouch disorders.
Department members affiliated with project: Lesley Graff Ph.D.
Collaborators from outside the department: Cleveland Clinic, Ohio: Shishara Bharadwaj M.D., Bo Shen MD.
5. Psychiatric comorbidity in chronic immunoinflammatory diseases: Multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease.
Department members affiliated with project: Lesley Graff Ph.D, John. R. Walker, Ph.D.
Collaborators from outside the department: University of Manitoba, Faculty of Medicine: Ruth Ann Marrie (Principal Investigator), Charles N. Bernstein (Principal Investigator), Carol Hitchins M.D., Alan Katz, M.D., Jitender Sareen, M.D., James Bolton M.D., Lisa Lix Ph.D.
Recent Presentations (selected):
Department members bolded
Bernstein, M., Graff, L.A., Targownik, L, Downing, K., Rawsthorne, P., Bernstein, C.N.,
and Avery, L. The relationship of gastrointestinal symptoms and menses in women with
IBD. Presented at American Gastroenterology Association conference San Diego CA
May 2012 Poster of Distinction
Bernstein, M., Graff, L.A., Targownik, L.E., Downing, K., Rawsthorne, P., Avery, L.
Assessing gastrointestinal and emotional symptoms prior to and during menses in healthy
women. Presented at Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, Ottawa
June 2012.
Carr, R., Sexton, K., Walker, J.R., Graff, L.A., Clara, I., Miller, N., Rogala, L.,
Rawsthorne, P., Bernstein, C.N. The Manitoba IBD Cohort Study: Causal attributions of
inflammatory bowel disease and their association with illness perceptions and
psychological well-being. Presented at Canadian Digestive Diseases Week Montreal PQ,
February, 2012.
Makkar, R., Shen, B., Graff, L.A., and Lopez., R. Psychological factors in Irritable
Pouch Syndrome and other pouch disorders. Presented at American Gastroenterology
Association conference (DDW) San Diego CA May 2012.
Sylvester, J., Walker J, Graff, LA, Duerksen D. Consulting Dr. Google: Internet
information use by outpatients undergoing elective colonoscopy. Presented at Canadian
Digestive Diseases Week, Montreal, PQ, February 2012.
Bernstein MT, Sexton KA, Targownik LE, Graff LA, Miller N, Walker JR. Sources of stress in IBD and relation to disease activity. Presented at American Gastroenterological Association conference, Orlando FL, May, 2013.
Bernstein M, Sexton K, Graff LA, Walker JR, Miller N, Targownik LE. Symptom activity in inflammatory bowel disease. Presented at Canadian Digestive Diseases Week conference, Victoria BC, March, 2013
Graff LA, Sexton K, Walker JR, Clara I, Targownik L, Rogala L, Miller N, Bernstein CN. Validating a measure of patient mastery in disease self-management using a population-based IBD cohort: the IBD-Self-Efficacy Scale. Presented at American Gastroenterological Association conference, Orlando FL May, 2013
Poster of Distinction
Israeli E, Graff LA, Clara I, Walker JR, Lix L, Targownik L, Rogala L, Miller N, Bernstein CN. Disability rates a decade after diagnosis in a population based IBD Cohort Presented at American Gastroenterological Association conference, Orlando FL May, 2013.
Sexton K, Bernstein, MT, Graff, LA, Walker JR, Miller, N, & Targownik, LE. Perceived Stress is related to symptom burden, but not intestinal inflammation in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Presented at American Gastroenterological Association conference, Orlando FL May, 2013. Invited for oral presentation from poster submission.
Sexton K, Walker JR, Graff LA, Clara I, Lix L, Carr R, Targownik L, Rogala L, Miller N, Bernstein CN. The Manitoba IBD Cohort Study: Disease characteristics, personal characteristics, and perceived stress as predictors of disease activity over five years. Presented at American Gastroenterological Association conference, Orlando FL May, 2013 Poster of Distinction
Sexton, KA, Walker, JR, Graff, LA, Clara, I, Lix, L, Carr, R, Rogala, L, Miller, N, & Bernstein, CN. Neuroticism and early disease activity predict more active 5-year course of inflammatory bowel disease in a community sample. Presented at Canadian Psychological Association conference, Québec City, QC. June, 2013
Silvester, J Graff LA, Kalkat H, Walker, JR, Duerksen D. What are you going to do Doctor? Effects of direct-to-colonscopy on information seeking and pre-procedure anxiety in patients undergoing first-time colonoscopy Presented at Canadian Digestive Diseases Week, Victoria BC, March.2013
Silvester, J., Weiten D, Graff LA, Walker JR, Duerksen D. The relationship between self-reported “strict adherence” to a gluten-free diet and the ability to identify gluten-containing foods. Presented at the American Gastroenterological Association conference, Orlando FL May 2013
Silvester J, Walker JR, Kalkat H, Graff LA, Duerksen D. Consulting Dr Google: Use of internet health information by patients undergoing their first colonoscopy. Presented at the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy conference, Orlando FL May 2013
Targownik LE, Sexton KA, Bernstein MT, Walker JR, Graff LA, Miller N, Rogala L, Sargent M. The association between symptom burden and inflammatory activity in IBD. Poster presented American Gastroenterological Association conference Orlando, FL, May, 2013.
Tkachuk G, Graff LA. Processes of change in CBT for IBS. Presented at the Canadian Pain Society conference, Winnipeg MB, June 2013
Sexton, K. A., Walker, J. R., Graff, L.A, Lix. L., Clara, I., Targownik, L. E., Rogala, L., Miller, N., Carr, R., & Bernstein, C. N. Longitudinal measurement invariance in a chronic illness population: How stable are measures of anxiety, stress, and depression with repeated assessments? Presented at Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies conference, Nashville, TN. November 2013
Silvester JA, Weiten D, Graff LA, Walker JR, Duerksen DR. Experiences of persons with celiac disease in managing a gluten-free diet: Behaviors thoughts and feelings. Presented at International Celiac Disease Symposium. Chicago IL September. 2013
Bernstein M, Sexton KA, Targownik L, Graff LA, Miller N, Rogala L, Walker JR. (2014) A
prospective study of the complex relationship between symptomatic disease activity and stress in
persons with IBD. Presented at Canadian Digestive Diseases Week, Toronto ON February
Bernstein MT, Sexton KA, Targownik LE, Graff LA, Miller N, Rogala L, Walker JR.(2014)
Sources of concern over time in IBD: A prospective study of the complex relationship between
symptomatic disease activity and perceived stress. Presented at American Gastroenterology Association conference, Chicago IL. May; Invited for oral presentation
Nugent Z, Walker JR, Marrie RA, Graff LA, Targownik LE, Sexton K, Lix L, Bernstein CN. (2014) Determining the treated prevalence of anxiety and depression using administrative data for patients with IBD. Presented at American Gastroenterology Association conference, Chicago IL. May
Sexton K, Targownik LE, Walker JR, Graff LA, Rogala L, Miller N, Beatie B, Bernstein CN.(2014) Development of an IBD symptom self-report scale for research and clinical application. Presented at American Gastroenterology Association conference, Chicago IL. May
Silvester J, Graff LA, Walker J, Staley D, Duerksen D. (2014) Feelings thoughts and behaviors of persons with celiac disease following a gluten-free diet. Presented at Canadian Digestive Diseases Week, Toronto ON February .
Silvester J, Weiten D, Graff LA, Walker J, Duerksen D. (2014)Self reported adherence, knowledge, information sources and impact of gluten free diet in patients with nonceliac gluten sensitivity: a comparison with celiac disease. Presented at Canadian Digestive Diseases Week, Toronto ON February
Targownik L, Sexton K, Bernstein M, Walker JR, Graff LA, Miller N, Rogala L. (2014) The effect of psychological distress and perceived stress on change in symptom activity and inflammation over time in Crohn’s disease. Presented at American Gastroenterology Association conference, Chicago IL. May
Piotrowski A, Graff LA, Loucks L, Bohm E. (2014) Psychological predictors of patient satisfaction following total knee or hip arthroplasty. International Congress Association of Psychology Paris, France July Invited for oral presentation
Recent Publications:
Chapters:
Mikocka-Walus A & Graff LA. (2015) Psychological considerations in gastrointestinal disorders. In Vögele C. (Ed), International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences 2nd edition. London:Elsevier in press
Graff LA. (2014) Psychological treatment outcomes in IBD, methodological issues, and future directions. In Knowles S, Mikocka-Walus A. (Eds). Inflammatory bowel disease: A biopsychosocial approach. London:Routledge. In press
Peer Reviewed Papers:
Department members bolded
Bernstein, K.I., Promislow, S., Carr, R., Rawsthorne, P., Walker, J.R., & Bernstein, C.N. (2011). The information needs and preferences of recently diagnosed patients with IBD. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, 17(2), 590-598.
Graff, L.A., Vincent, N., Walker, J.R., Clara, I., Carr R., Ediger, J. P., Miller, N., Rogala, L., Rawsthorne, P., Lix, L., & Bernstein, C. N. (2011) A population-based study of fatigue and sleep difficulties in inflammatory bowel disease. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, 17(9), 1882–1889.
Graff LA, Walker JR, Russell AS, Bissonnette R, Bernstein CN. (2011) Fatigue and quality of sleep in patients with immune mediated inflammatory disease. Journal of Rheumatology 38 Suppl 88; 36-42
invited review
Kraut A., Graff LA, McLean D. (2011) Behavioral change with influenza vaccination: Factors influencing increased uptake of the pandemic H1N1 vs seasonal influenza vaccine in health care personnel. Vaccine, 29(46), 8357-8363. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.08.084
Longobardi, T., Walker, J.R., Graff, L.A., & Bernstein, C.N. (2011). Health service utilization in IBD: Comparison of self-report and administrative data. BMC Health Services Research, 11, 137. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6963/11/137
Rawsthorne P, Clara I, Graff LA, Bernstein K, Carr R, Walker JR, Ediger J, Rogala L, Miller N, Bernstein CN. (2011) The Manitoba IBD Cohort study: A prospective longitudinal evaluation of complementary and alternative medicine in IBD. Gut doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2011-300219
Sajobi, T, Lix, L, Clara, I, Walker, J, Graff LA, Rawsthorne P, Miller N, Rogala L, Carr R , Bernstein CN. (2011) Measures of relative importance for health-related quality of life. Quality of Life Research doi: 10.1007/s11136-011-9914-7
Singh, S, Blanchard A, Walker JR, Graff LA, Miller N, Bernstein CN. (2011) Common symptoms and stressors among individuals with inflammatory bowel diseases. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 9(9) 769-775.
Walker, J.R., Graff, L.A., Dutz, J., & Bernstein, C.N. (2011). Psychiatric disorders in patients with immune mediated inflammatory diseases: Prevalence, association with disease activity, and overall quality of life. Journal of Rheumatology. 88:31-35
Bernstein, M., Graff, L.A., Targownik, L, Downing, K., Rawsthorne, P., Bernstein, C.N., and Avery, L. (2012) Gastrointestinal symptoms before and during menses in women with IBD. Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 36(2):135-44. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2012.05155.x. Epub 2012 May 24. PMID: 22621660
Garland A, Roberts, D., & Graff LA. (2012) An alternating crossover study of 24 hours intensivist presence: A pilot study of the effects on ICU patients, families, doctors and nurses. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 185(7): 738-743 [Epub ahead of print January 2012] doi:10.1164/rccm.201109-17340C PMID 22246176
Graff LA, Kaoukis G, Vincent N, Piotrowski A, Ediger J. (2012) New models of care for psychology in Canada’s health services. Canadian Psychology 53(3):165-177 [epub ahead of print January 2012] doi:10.1037/a0026635
Lix, L., Sajobi, T., Sawatzky, R., Lio J, Mayo B, Huang Y, Graff, LA, Walker, JR, Ediger J, Clara I, Sexton K, Carr R, Bernstein CN. (2012) Relative Importance Measures for Reprioritization Response Shift. Quality of Life Research [Epub ahead of print June 2012] PMID: 22700163
Mikocka-Walus A, Andrews J, Bernstein CN, Graff LA, Walker JR, Spinelli A, Danese S, van der Woude CJ, Goodhand J, Rampton D, Moser G. (2012). Integrated models of care in managing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD): A discussion. Inflammatory Bowel Disease 18(8), 1582-1587. PMID: 22241699. [epub ahead of print January 2012 doi: 10.1002/ibd.22877
Targownik, L., Leslie, W., Carr, R., Clara, I., Miller, N, Rogala L, Graff. LA, Walker, JR, Bernstein CN. (2012) Longitudinal Change in BMD in a Population Based Cohort of Patients with Inflammatory bowel Disease Calcified Tissue International 91(5) 356-363 PMID: 22983212.
Wong S, Walker JR, Carr , R., Graff LA, Clara, I, Promislow S, Rogala L, Miller N, Rogala L, Rawsthorne P, Bernstein CN. (2012) The information needs and preferences of persons with longstanding inflammatory bowel disease. IBD. Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology 26(8): 525-31. PMID: 2891177
Loftus R, Nugent Z, Graff LA, Schumacher F, Bernstein, CN, Singh H. (2013) Patient satisfaction with the endoscopy experience and willingness- to-return in a central Canadian Health Region. Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology 27(5): 259-266
Graff LA, Clara I, Walker JR, Lix L, Carr R, Miller N, Rogala L, Bernstein CN. (2013) Changes in fatigue over two years are associated with disease activity and psychological factors in inflammatory bowel disease. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2013; 11:1140-1146. doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2013.03.031.
Ryan D, Silverberg M, Xu W, Graff LA, Targownik L, Walker JR, Carr R, Clara I, Miller N,
Rogala L, Bernstein CN. (2013). Predicting complicated Crohn’s disease and surgery: phenotypes, genetics, serology, and psychological characteristics of a population-based cohort. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics 38(3):274-83.
Graff LA, Dudley-Brown S. (2013) Common psychological disorders in inflammatory bowel disease and implications for disease management. Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management. 20(7):315-324. invited review.
Goldenberg B, Graff, LA, Clara I, Zarychanski R, Walker J, Carr R, Rogala L, Miller N, Bernstein CN (2013) Is iron deficiency in the absence of anemia associated with fatigue in inflammatory bowel disease? American Journal of Gastroenterology 108:1392-1397.
Israeli E, Graff, LA, Clara I, Walker J, Lix L, Targownik L, Bernstein CN. (2014) Disability rates a decade after diagnosis in a population based IBD cohort. Clinical Gastroenterology & Hepatology. 12(8): 1330-1337 epub ahead of print DOI:10.1016/j.cgh.2013.12.009