Psychological Interventions for Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients often present psychoform symptoms or psychiatric disorders. Among the psychological factors studied in IBS patients, two seem to influence mostly its severity: catastrophizing and somatization. Somatization is an independent risk factor for IBS. In addition, somatization more than the severity of IBS influences the way the patients perceive their illness, the outcome and the efficacy of treatment. Irritable bowel syndrome patients demonstrate greater catastrophizing scores than controls, and pain catastrophizing is a significant predictor of gastrointestinal symptoms related to pain. In this context we analysed the data regarding the efficacy of two psychological treatments in IBS: cognitive behavioral therapy and hypnosis. Cognitive behavioral therapy is focused on replacing maladaptive coping strategies with more positive cognitions and behaviors. Several studies showed that cognitive behavioral therapy is effective in reducing bowel symptoms in IBS, both post-treatment and short-term follow-up. Gut-directed hypnotherapy has beneficial short-term effects in improving gastrointestinal symptoms of patients with IBS, and the results are maintained after one year in half of the patients. Psychological treatments are a suitable option for selected IBS patients. Abbreviations: CBT: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; FGIDs: functional gastrointestinal disorders; GDH: Gut-Directed Hypnotherapy; GI: gastrointestinal; HRQoL: health related quality of liffe; IBS: irritable bowel syndrome; ICBT: Internet-delivered CBT; ISM: Internet-delivered Stress Management; NNT: number needed to treat; PROs: Patient-reported outcomes; QoL: Quality of Life; SD: Somatization Disorders; SMT: Supportive Medical Treatment.

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Comparative Efficacy of Cognitive-behavioral Therapy and Mindfulness Therapy on Reducing Symptoms and Improving Quality of life in Patients with the Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Biomedical & Pharmacology Journal ◽

10.13005/bpj/453 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 63-74 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Saeedeh Zomorodi ◽

Seyed Kazem Rasulzadeh Tabatabaee ◽

Mohammad Arbabi ◽

Parviz Azad Falah ◽

Naser Ebrahimi Daryani

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Irritable Bowel Syndrome ◽

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ◽

Behavioral Therapy ◽

Cognitive Behavioral ◽

Comparative Efficacy ◽

Irritable Bowel ◽

Mindfulness Therapy

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Effects of Internet-delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Meta-Analysis (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.35260 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hyunjung Kim ◽

Younjae Oh ◽

Sun Ju Chang

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Irritable Bowel Syndrome ◽

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ◽

Symptom Severity ◽

Behavioral Therapy ◽

Cognitive Behavioral ◽

Psychological Status ◽

Post Intervention ◽

Irritable Bowel

BACKGROUND Irritable bowel syndrome is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder that negatively affects all aspects of life. With the widespread use of the Internet, internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy has been developed and applied to control symptoms and improve the quality of life of those with irritable bowel syndrome. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to systematically review studies that examined the use of internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy in patients with irritable bowel syndrome and to evaluate the effects of internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy on the improvement of symptom severity, quality of life, and psychological status, and on cost-effectiveness. METHODS This meta-analysis involved the search of six databases for relevant publications. Nine randomized controlled trials were finally included in the analysis. RESULTS Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy had medium to large effects (standardized mean difference, 95% confidence interval) on symptom severity (-0.633; -0.861 to -0.4304), quality of life (0.582; 0.396 to 0.769), and cost-effectiveness (-0.372; -0.704 to -0.039) at post-intervention, and the effects on symptom severity remained over time even after the intervention. There was no significant difference in psychological status, including anxiety and depression, in those with irritable bowel syndrome compared to the controls during the post-intervention period. CONCLUSIONS This review demonstrated that internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy could be a cost-effective intervention for improving symptoms and the quality of life in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. However, studies are still insufficient regarding the use of internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy in these patients; therefore, more high-quality studies are required in future.

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