Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA; School of Professional Psychology and Health, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA, 94103, USA.
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2021 May;43:101374. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2021.101374. Epub 2021 Mar 31.
The benefits of written expressive disclosure (WED) to health are documented in a variety of healthy and clinical populations. This study investigates the effect of WED on health-related outcomes in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Adults (N = 189) meeting Rome III criteria for IBS were randomly assigned to write about their: (1) deepest thoughts and feelings about the most stressful life event of the past five years (n = 67), (2) deepest thoughts and feelings about their IBS (n = 61) or (3) daily activities in an objective manner (control condition; n = 61). Participants completed four 20-min writing sessions over 2-6 weeks. Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, healthcare utilization, health-related quality of life (HR-QOL), pain catastrophizing, and pain self-efficacy were assessed at baseline, one month post-writing completion, and three months post-writing completion.
A significant group (combined WED vs. control) X time interaction was detected for healthcare utilization, F(1,147) = 6.16, p = 0.014, η = 0.04. Specifically, number of GI-related medical appointments significantly increased from baseline to 3-month follow-up in the control group, while no significant change was observed in the combined WED group. Among the WED group, individuals assigned to write about their IBS experienced greater improvements in pain self-efficacy than those assigned to write about a life stressor, F(1,92) = 3.89, p = 0.024, η = 0.08. GI symptom severity, HR-QOL, and pain catastrophizing improved significantly across groups over time, with no significant between-group differences.
Writing about one's deepest thoughts and feelings about IBS may increase pain self-efficacy and reduce healthcare utilization compared to control writing in adults with IBS.
书面表达性披露（WED）对健康的益处已在各种健康和临床人群中得到证实。本研究调查了 WED 对肠易激综合征（IBS）患者健康相关结果的影响。
符合罗马 III 标准的 IBS 成年患者（N=189）被随机分为三组，分别写作：（1）过去五年中最具压力的生活事件中他们最深刻的想法和感受（n=67）；（2）他们的 IBS 最深刻的想法和感受（n=61）；或（3）以客观的方式记录日常生活（对照组；n=61）。参与者在 2-6 周内完成了四个 20 分钟的写作会话。在基线、写作完成后一个月和写作完成后三个月评估胃肠道（GI）症状、医疗保健利用、健康相关生活质量（HR-QOL）、疼痛灾难化和疼痛自我效能。
检测到组（综合 WED 组与对照组）X 时间交互作用在医疗保健利用方面有统计学意义，F（1，147）=6.16，p=0.014，η=0.04。具体而言，对照组的 GI 相关医疗预约数量从基线到 3 个月随访显著增加，而综合 WED 组没有观察到显著变化。在 WED 组中，与被分配撰写生活压力源的个体相比，被分配撰写 IBS 的个体的疼痛自我效能感有更大的改善，F（1，92）=3.89，p=0.024，η=0.08。GI 症状严重程度、HR-QOL 和疼痛灾难化在所有组中均随时间显著改善，组间无显著差异。
与对照组相比，在 IBS 成人中，撰写有关他们对 IBS 的最深刻的想法和感受可能会提高疼痛自我效能感并减少医疗保健的利用。
