Abstract
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a prevalent functional disorder characterized by abdominal pain and hypervigilance to gastrointestinal
sensations. We hypothesized that mindfulness training (MT), which promotes nonreactive awareness of emotional and sensory
experience, may target underlying mechanisms of IBS including affective pain processing and catastrophic appraisals of gastrointestinal
sensations. Seventy five female IBS patients were randomly assigned to participate in either 8 weeks of MT or a social support
group. A theoretically grounded, multivariate path model tested therapeutic mediators of the effect of MT on IBS severity
and quality of life. Results suggest that MT exerts significant therapeutic effects on IBS symptoms by promoting nonreactivity
to gut-focused anxiety and catastrophic appraisals of the significance of abdominal sensations coupled with a refocusing of
attention onto interoceptive data with less emotional interference. Hence, MT appears to target and ameliorate the underlying
pathogenic mechanisms of IBS.
sensations. We hypothesized that mindfulness training (MT), which promotes nonreactive awareness of emotional and sensory
experience, may target underlying mechanisms of IBS including affective pain processing and catastrophic appraisals of gastrointestinal
sensations. Seventy five female IBS patients were randomly assigned to participate in either 8 weeks of MT or a social support
group. A theoretically grounded, multivariate path model tested therapeutic mediators of the effect of MT on IBS severity
and quality of life. Results suggest that MT exerts significant therapeutic effects on IBS symptoms by promoting nonreactivity
to gut-focused anxiety and catastrophic appraisals of the significance of abdominal sensations coupled with a refocusing of
attention onto interoceptive data with less emotional interference. Hence, MT appears to target and ameliorate the underlying
pathogenic mechanisms of IBS.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-12
- DOI 10.1007/s10865-011-9391-z
- Authors
- Eric L. Garland, College of Social Work, Trinity Institute for the Addictions, Florida State University, 296 Champions Way, PO Box 3062570, Tallahassee, FL 32306-2570, USA
- Susan A. Gaylord, Program on Integrative Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Olafur Palsson, Department of Medicine, Center for Functional Gastrointestinal and Motility Disorders and Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, School of Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Keturah Faurot, Program on Integrative Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- J. Douglas Mann, Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- William E. Whitehead, Department of Medicine, Center for Functional Gastrointestinal and Motility Disorders and Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, School of Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Journal Journal of Behavioral Medicine
- Online ISSN 1573-3521
- Print ISSN 0160-7715