Photo Credit: Yaroslav Olieinikov

The following is a summary of “Internet delivered exposure based cognitive behavior therapy for IBS – A clinical effectiveness study,” published in the August 2024 issue of Gastroenterology by Walllen et al.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a prevalent and distressing condition, often requires psychological intervention when traditional methods fail. Yet, limited access to such treatment necessitates technological solutions.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study investigating the real-world effectiveness of internet-delivered exposure-based cognitive behavioral treatment (ECBT) for IBS to replicate an earlier finding regarding the working mechanism of the treatment.

They recruited 309 consecutive patients from the Internet Psychiatry Clinic in Stockholm to receive ECBT for 12 weeks. The IBS symptoms of patients, QoL, avoidance behaviors, and gastrointestinal symptom-specific anxiety (GSA) were monitored. A bivariate cross-lagged panel model investigated the time-related change in symptoms and avoidance behaviors.

The results showed IBS symptoms, measured with The Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale for IBS (GSRS-IBS), were reduced from 48.06 (SD = 11.26) pre-treatment to 33.06 (SD=10.81) 6 months after treatment (P<.001). The effect size was (Cohen’s Disease) 1.30 [1.08-1.51]. A significant (P<.001) cross-lagged effect from the reduction in avoidance behavior to the decrease in symptoms, but not in the reversed direction, indicating that the treatment effect was mediated by behavioral change.

They concluded that ECBT was effective under real-world conditions, as well as when delivered via the Internet, and that a vital treatment mechanism was the reduction of avoidance behaviors.

Source: journals.lww.com/ajg/abstract/9900/internet_delivered_exposure_based_cognitive.1319.a