The effects of cognitive behavioral therapy in female nursing students with irritable bowel syndrome: a randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is highly prevalent in young women under stressful conditions. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been known to be effective in treating IBS. AIMS: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of CBT in female nursing students with IBS. The primary outcome measure of the study was the Bowel Symptom Severity Scale-IBS version. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ninety diagnosed participants were randomized to each group in a randomized pretest-post-test control group design. The experimental group received an 8-week CBT intervention, and the control group received general information on IBS. Bowel symptom severity, dysfunctional attitudes, and IBS-quality of life were assessed at baseline and after 8, 16, and 24 weeks. Six experimental and eight control participants withdrew during the study because of various reasons.
RESULTS: Significant effects were found for bowel symptom severity (frequency: P<0.001; distress: P<0.001; disability: P<0.001) between the experimental (n=39) and the control (n=37) groups. The overall IBS-quality of life improved over time in the CBT group (P<0.001). The CBT also showed the alleviation of dysphoria (P=0.010), interference with activity (P=0.031), and health worry (P=0.009), and the improvement of body image (P=0.008) and relationships (P=0.041) compared with the control group.
CONCLUSION: CBT proved to be an effective intervention for improving the clinical states of IBS in young female nursing students.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes