Can psychological therapies help people with IBD?
Research summary of a recently published paper: Efficacy of psychological therapies in people with inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Background
There is increasing evidence that the gut–brain axis exerts effects on both psychological health and disease activity in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
A previous meta-analysis (a pooling together of the available evidence on a specific topic) examining whether treatments targeting the gut–brain axis, such as psychological therapies, have any beneficial effects in people with IBD, was published in 2017; it showed no long-term benefits.
However, there have been more trials carried out since then and this updated systematic review and meta-analysis shows some interesting and important updated findings.
This Study - what did they do?
This study pooled together the data from 25 randomised controlled trials to see whether treatments targeting the gut–brain axis, such as psychological therapies, have any beneficial effects in people with IBD.
An Overview of the Findings
Psychological therapies have beneficial, short-term effects on:
anxiety
depression
stress
quality-of-life scores
but not on disease activity in people with IBD.
Important Take Aways
The findings of this study suggest that psychological therapies have benefits on measures of psychological health in people with IBD, and that such therapies could be important as adjunctive treatments in clinical practice.
This study yet again shows the importance of a holistic view of support when it comes to IBD rather than focusing on just medication alone.
We work with some excellent health and clinical psychologists who support our IBD patients when they need it and we see in practice how helpful this can be alongside dietary support and medical treatment.
The Limitations of this study
The are limitations to this meta-analysis with heterogeneity between the trials included and high risk of bias largely because masking in trials of psychological therapy is logistically difficult.
Different patient groups were used in the trials (many did not include those with clinically active IBD) and different protocols (eg, the type of psychological intervention administered, method of delivery, duration of treatment, and frequency of sessions) which makes comparisons more challenging.
If you would like support with your IBD we can help you.
We are a nutrition and dietetics clinic specialising providing exceptional care to improve the quality of life of people living with IBD. We bring clarity around food and IBD and remove uncertainty and fear around food. We also work alongside some exceptional IBD specialist psychologists who support our patients alongside our care.
Our IBD specialist Nutritionist (Clemmie) and specialist gastroenterology and IBD Dietician (Jess) both have IBD too so ‘get it’ and are so passionate about helping others with IBD.
If you would like support with your IBD please book a free initial call via the button below so we can find out more about you, discuss how we can help and take you through our appointment options.
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We are all wonderfully unique and what works for one person may not work for another so please seek help and advice before changing your diet to work out the right way forward for you.
Reference
Christy Riggott, Antonina Mikocka-Walus, David J Gracie, Alexander C Ford. Efficacy of psychological therapies in people with inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepato. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/ S2468-1253(23)00186-3