Comparison of efficacy of cognitive - behavior therapy and Mindfulness-based therapy on improving the quality of life in patients with irritable bowel syndrome

This study was made to compare the effectiveness of two methods of cognitive- behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based therapy on quality of life in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Method of the study was a quasi-experimental design in three-group manner, with pre-test and final test with treatment methods of the control group. Due to the nature of the study which is a pilot project and also considering the drop of subjects, 36 patients (12 patients in each group), patients with IBS according to Rome (ROMEIII), 20 men and 16 women with average age of 32 years were chosen available and considering the entry conditions were substituted in therapy and control groups. In all three groups, the IBS-QOL34 questionnaire scale was administered as a pre-test. Then either of two treatment groups received cognitive therapy - behavior (CBT) and mindfulness-based therapy (MFT) but the control group received no intervention. At the end, the above scale was administered as a post-test in all three groups. The results of the three groups were analyzed in two stages, using statistical tests. ANCOVA results showed that the difference between treatment procedures after the control and elimination of pre-test was significant (p <0/05). Also the subsequent LSD test results showed a significant difference between mindfulness-based therapy and with Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in improving the Quality of life in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (p <0/05). According to the results it can be concluded that the modern methods of psychotherapy should be considered in improving the life quality of irritable bowel syndrome, because the old ways are not always beneficial and may even be not effective.