The effectiveness of cognitive behavior stress management on functional dyspepsia symptoms.

INTRODUCTION: Functional dyspepsia and digestive disorders are common, debilitating and costly. Little information is available about the role of stress management in terms of cognitive-behavioral treatment of dyspepsia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral stress management on functional dyspepsia symptoms in patients who referred to digestion clinics in Ahvaz.

METHODS: This was a quasi-experimental study, using pre-test, post-test and follow-up with control group. The sample size was decided according to availability. For this purpose, 30 patients were selected using Rome-III diagnostic criteria with diagnosis of functional dyspepsia. They were divided with block randomization into two experimental and control groups (Each with 15 subjects). The experimental group received 10 sessions of cognitive behavioral stress management. But, the control group did not receive any intervention. Two groups were assessed at post-test and follow-up after the intervention. Data collection in this study was based on the NDI index. All subjects completed the NDI index for evaluating dyspeptic symptoms in the pre-test phase. At the end of interventions and post-test phase, both groups completed the NDI index. Also, all subjects completed a month after the end of the the NDI index in order to follow the effects of treatment. After the follow-up, the data were analyzed using the SPSS 14 and univariate analysis of variance. The significance level was considered p<0.05.

RESULTS: The result of this study showed that there were significant differences between the experimental and control groups in terms of functional dyspepsia in the post-test (p=0.000). Also, there were significant differences between the experimental and control groups in terms of functional dyspepsia in the follow-up (p =0.000).

CONCLUSION: The results of the present study suggest that cognitive-behavioral stress management strategies are effective in reducing symptoms in patients with functional dyspepsia. So, cooperation among gastroenterologists, psychologists and psychiatrists can have positive effects on these patients.