Effectiveness of Stress Management Training on Quality of Life Among Patients with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Although psychological factors such as stress can have adverse effects on quality of life in patients with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), there have not been sufficient research on the effects of psychological interventions such as stress management training on this condition. The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of stress management training in enhancing quality of life in patients with GERD who were referred to a Gastroenterology and Liver Disease specialist in Anzali, Iran, during the past 18 months. The present research is conducted in the form of a semi-experimental study including a control group. We sampled 38 available female patients with GERD who were diagnosed by the specialists and received medical treatment; then, we randomly divided them into two groups – experimental and control. The patients responded to the Quality of life Questionnaire in Gastroesophageal Reflux] REFLUX-QUAL] at two stages: as a pretest –before implementing a group stress management training that included two stages of informing and training – and as a posttest – after the psychological intervention. We analyzed the resulting data using a one-way analysis of covariance. Stress management training improves the Global Quality of Life (p= 0.01), and four of its dimensions including Daily Life (p= 0.02), Quality of Life (p= 0.02), State of Mind (p= 0.05) and Worries and Concerns (p= 0.04) in patients with GERD, but did not significantly influence the other dimensions; Relationships, Sleep, and Food. Group stress management training can increase the quality of life in patients with GERD. Conflict of interest: non declared