Thoughthe exact cause of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) remains a mystery, various forms of psychological counseling are associated with symptom improvements. One such approach is a cognitive-behavioral technique called mindfulness meditation. Patients learn to be aware of moment-to-moment thoughts and physical symptoms and accept them without judgment.

Researchers at the Program on Integrative Medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, randomized 75 women with IBS to group mindfulness training for 2 hours weekly or to an IBS support group, for 8 weeks. Questionnaires for IBS severity (500-point scale) and other measures were given at the beginning of the trial, at 8 weeks, and at 3 months follow-up.

Clinically significant improvements in severity scores, defined as 50-point or greater change on the severity scale, were recorded in 68.8% of the women in the mindfulness group vs. 45.2% in the standard support group at 8 weeks (p = 0.06), and in 75% vs. 53.1% at 3 months (p = 0.08).

Though the differences only reached borderline statistical significance (level 2 [mid-level] evidence), the mindfulness training was also associated with significant improvements in quality of life scores at 3 months. (Gaylord S, et al. Am J Gastroenterol 2011;106(9):1678).

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