Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Psychological Comorbidities in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, lifelong disease, so IBD patients are highly susceptible to negative emotions, such as anxiety and depression, resulting in a reduced quality of life. Mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) is widely used to reduce stress, anxiety and depression in people. Therefore, this study conducted a systematic review of mindfulness-based intervention training on anxiety, depression, and quality of life in patients with IBD through meta-analysis.  

Methods: Search papers in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, CNKI, Wanfang, and Embase databases. The search time limit was from the establishment of the database to May 2023. Randomized controlled trial studies of the effect of mindfulness intervention training on patients with IBD were screened, the included results were integrated and analyzed, and ReviewManager 5.4 was used for meta-analysis.  

Results: A total of 14 studies with a total of 1030 IBD patients were included. A total of 10 studies showed that the anxiety of patients in the mindfulness intervention group was significantly reduced by (standard mean difference (SMD) = –0.73, 95% confidence interval (CI): –1.01 to –0.45) compared to the control group. 8 studies showed that the intervention group significantly reduced patients' depression (SMD = –0.60, 95% CI: –0.78 to –0.42). 7 studies showed that the patient's quality of life improved after mindfulness intervention (SMD = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.45–0.87). 

Conclusion: Mindfulness-based intervention training can improve anxiety, depression, and quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel disease in the short term, but the long-term effects need to be confirmed by more randomized controlled trials.