Meditation and Irritable Bowel Syndrome, a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Cristian-Ioan Baboș, Daniel-Corneliu Leucuța, Dan Lucian Dumitrașcu
Journal of Clinical Medicine November 2, 2022 DOI: 10.3390/jcm11216516 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Adult participants with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Irritable bowel syndrome Mental healing Self-compassion |
| Key findings | Across six randomized trials, meditation/mindfulness was associated with significantly better quality of life and higher spiritual/mindful-awareness scores, and significantly lower IBS pain scores, while the reduction in overall IBS symptom severity did not reach statistical significance. |
Abstract
Mind-body interventions have shown efficacy in many conditions that have psychosomatic mechanisms, as well as for other pathologies. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of meditation/mindfulness at improving the symptoms severity, quality of life and other associated mood and mental conditions, measured in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). A systematic review of randomized controlled trials in adult participants with IBS was conducted. Eight databases were searched for articles. We performed a meta-analysis evaluating the effects of meditation-based therapy on symptomatology, quality of life, anxiety and depression. Out of 604 articles screened, six were selected for quantitative review. The standardized mean difference (SMD) of the mindfulness group and the control group was of -36.95 (95% CI -74.61-0.7), p = 0.054 regarding the IBS symptom score; of 12.58 (95% CI 4.42-20.74), p = 0.003 regarding the IBS quality of life; SMD = 2.8 (95% CI 1.01-4.6), p = 0.002 for spiritual scale; and of 15.49 (95% CI -28.43--2.55), p = 0.019 regarding the pain score in IBS. Our study found that the quality of life and the spiritual scale scores (i.e., mindful awareness) were statistically significantly higher in the mindfulness group, while the pain score was statistically significantly lower in the mindfulness group.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being Diverse adult clinical populations | 2014 | Meta-analysis | n = 3,515 |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Stress Management in Healthy People: A Review and Meta-Analysis Healthy subjects | 2009 | Systematic review and meta-analysis | |
| The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Nonclinical groups of adult meditators | 2012 | Meta-analysis | n = 163 |
| Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse Adults with recurrent depression in full or partial remission | 2016 | Meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomized controlled trials | n = 1,258 |
| Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy – a systematic review of randomized controlled trials | 2011 | Systematic review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Psychedelic-assisted Therapy as a Promising Treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology February 17, 2025
- Meditation-Based Therapies for Chronic Neuropathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Cureus August 1, 2024
- Meditation and Compassion Therapy in Psychiatric Disorders: A Pilot Study. Cureus July 1, 2024
- Vipassanā Meditation in Contemporary Psychiatry: Transformation of a Buddhist Practice into a Mental Health Intervention Kamali: Jurnal Ilmu Agama June 26, 2026
- Mindfulness Training Has Long-term Therapeutic Benefits in Women with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Mindfulness September 16, 2024
Cites 3
- Rapid changes in histone deacetylases and inflammatory gene expression in expert meditators. Psychoneuroendocrinology November 15, 2013
- Mindfulness training reduces the severity of irritable bowel syndrome in women: results of a randomized controlled trial. The American journal of gastroenterology September 2011
- Mindfulness-based interventions for chronic pain: a systematic review of the evidence. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 2011