Postgraduate Course of Science of Stress and Health Promotion, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Medical School, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2021;1337:345-354. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-78771-4_39.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder that affects a considerable percentage of the global population, mainly middle-aged women. IBS causes a constellation of symptoms with repercussions on patients' physical, psychological, and social well-being. Stress seems to play an important role in the pathogenesis of the disease as well as in its management. This study evaluated the effects of a novel non-pharmacological 8-week stress management intervention, the Pythagorean Self-Awareness Intervention (PSAI), in patients with IBS. In this non-randomized controlled trial, 60 IBS patients were assigned to an intervention and a control group. Self-reported questionnaires were used for the evaluation of IBS symptoms and a variety of biopsychological characteristics, pre- and post-intervention. All IBS-related symptoms were significantly reduced in the intervention group compared to the control group with 50% of the patients in the intervention group reporting less abdominal pain. The most potent effects of the intervention were observed in anger externalization, anger control, visuospatial memory, information processing speed, verbal memory, sense of coherence, stress, anxiety, and anger internalization. No side effects in the PSAI group were noted. In conclusion, PSAI was beneficial for patients suffering from IBS. Future research should expand and validate the results of this study.
肠易激综合征（IBS）是一种功能性胃肠道疾病，影响着相当大比例的全球人口，主要是中年妇女。IBS 会引起一系列症状，对患者的身体、心理和社会健康产生影响。压力似乎在疾病的发病机制以及其管理中起着重要作用。本研究评估了一种新的非药物 8 周应激管理干预措施——毕达哥拉斯自我意识干预（PSAI）对 IBS 患者的影响。在这项非随机对照试验中，60 名 IBS 患者被分配到干预组和对照组。在干预前后，使用自我报告问卷评估 IBS 症状和各种生物心理特征。与对照组相比，干预组的所有 IBS 相关症状均显著减轻，干预组中有 50%的患者报告腹痛减轻。干预的最有效作用在愤怒外化、愤怒控制、视空间记忆、信息处理速度、言语记忆、感知凝聚力、压力、焦虑和愤怒内化方面得到观察。PSAI 组未出现不良反应。总之，PSAI 对患有 IBS 的患者有益。未来的研究应扩大和验证本研究的结果。
