Characteristics of respondents
| Characteristic (no of responders) | Criteria | Frequency (%) |
| Gender (n=351) | Male | 20.5 |
| Female | 78.8 | |
| Other | 0.6 | |
| Age (n=352) | Median 38 (IQR 29–49) | |
| State (n=352) | New South Wales | 54.3 |
| Victoria | 22.7 | |
| Queensland | 11.1 | |
| South Australia | 2.0 | |
| Northern territory | 0.6 | |
| Tasmania | 3.1 | |
| Western Australia | 6.3 | |
| Education (n=353) | Primary or secondary school | 9.1 |
| Completed high school | 25.2 | |
| University education | 47.9 | |
| Vocational education and training | 17.8 | |
| Employment status (n=351) | Employed—full time | 43.9 |
| Employed—part time | 17.9 | |
| Self employed | 6.3 | |
| Temporary/casual | 7.7 | |
| Unemployed | 21.1 | |
| Student | 3.1 | |
| IBD diagnosis (n=354) | Ulcerative colitis | 35.9 |
| Crohn’s disease | 59.3 | |
| IBD unspecified | 4.8 | |
| Peri-anal Crohn’s (n=201) | Yes | 39.3 |
| Age at IBD diagnosis | Median 26 (IQR 20–34) | |
| Current Clinical Status of Disease (n=337) | No symptoms | 22.8 |
| Mild symptoms | 43.0 | |
| Moderate symptoms | 20.2 | |
| Severe symptoms | 13.9 | |
| Chronic medical conditions apart from IBD | Diabetes | 4.8 |
| Heart disease | 3.7 | |
| Lung disease (asthma, COPD) | 9.9 | |
| Previous stroke | 1.1 | |
| Hypertension | 9.3 | |
| Kidney disease | 0.8 | |
| Nil other medical condition | 71.8 |
COPD, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; IBD, inflammatory bowel disease.