Effectiveness of mindfulness-based intervention on the disease activity and quality of life of patients with ulcerative colitis

Background: Ulcerative colitis [UC] is a chronic inflammatory disease that because of its unknown and recurring nature can reduce the quality of life of the affected patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based intervention on disease activity and quality of life in patients with UC

Materials and Methods: This was a clinical trial with control group. In this study, 32 patients with UC were selected through voluntary sampling. The experimental group underwent 10 sessions of 120 minutes of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. For evaluating the efficacy of the treatment, the Lichtiger Colitis Activity Index [LCAI] and Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis Questionnaire [CUCQ] were used

Results:The analysis of the results showed that difference between the two groups in terms of decreasing the severity of disease activity and increasing the quality of life was not statistically significant [p > 0.05], but increased quality of life in the experimental group was significant in terms of the three stages of evaluation [p < 0.05]

Conclusion: It can be stated that mindfulness-based interventions may be beneficial in improving physical symptoms and quality of life in patients with UC, which requires future studies, taking into account the limitations of this study

[Efficacy of hypnotherapy in conjunction with pharmacotherapy and pharmacotherapy alone on the quality of life in patients with irritable bowel syndrome]

This study assessed the effects of hypnotherapy in conjunction with pharmacotherapy versus pharmacotherapy on the quality of life in patients diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome [IBS]. This clinical trial used the convenience sampling method to enroll 34 IBS patients. Patients were selected according to Rome III criteria and divided into two groups: i] hypnotherapy plus standard medical treatment and ii] standard medical treatment. The QOL-IBS scale assessed patient quality of life at baseline, post-treatment and at the six month follow-up. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance [ANCOVA]. There were significant differences observed between both groups at the post-treatment and follow-up stages in terms of quality of life [p<0.05]. Standard medical treatment in addition to hypnotherapy can be used to improve quality of life in IBS patients