OBJECTIVES: Although subjective health expectations might influence patients’ current decisions, this area is understudied in Crohn’s disease (CD). We aimed to assess CD patients’ beliefs regarding future health and explore deterministic factors.

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was performed in four gastroenterology centres among patients with CD. Demography, disease characteristics were recorded. Patients were asked to indicate the health problem levels they expect to have at ages 60, 70, 80 and 90 in each dimension of the descriptive system of the EQ-5D-3L. The age they expect to reach was also asked. EQ-5D-3L index scores were calculated using the UK utility score set. Descriptive statistics were calculated and multivariate linear regression was performed.

RESULTS: CONCLUSIONS: Patients with CD expect health improvement on the short term. However, they predict a sharp deterioration of health with age and expect to have much worse health than their counterparts of the general public. Our results are relevant for reducing information asymmetry in CD care and may influence the methods used in health economic research.