A randomized controlled trial of lifestyle self-monitoring for irritable bowel syndrome in female nursing school students

Yukiko Okami, Gyozen Nin, Kiyomi Harada, Masayo Iwasa, Kaori Kitaoka, Ayako Saruwatari, Wataru Aoi, Sayori Wada, Misaka Kimura, Hiroaki Asano, Yusuke Okuyama, Susumu Takakuwa, Motoyori Kanazawa, Shin Fukudo, Tomiko Tsuji, Akane Higashi

Department of Behavioral Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
Department of Education, Kyoto Women’s University, Kyoto, Japan.
Department of Gastroenterology, Japan Red Cross Kyoto Daiichi Hospital, Kyoto, Japan.
Department of Health and Nutrition, Nagoya Bunri University, Inazawa, Japan.
Department of Health and Nutrition, Nagoya Bunri University, Inazawa, Japan Ex-Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, Kyoto, Japan.
Ex-Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, Kyoto, Japan.
Ex-Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, Kyoto, Japan Department of Health and Nutrition, Kyoto Koka Women’s University, Kyoto, Japan.
Ex-Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, Kyoto, Japan School of Nursing, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
Faculty of Bioenvironmental Science, Kyoto Gakuen University, Kameoka, Japan.
Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, Kyoto, Japan.
School of Nursing, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/ojgas.2013.38058                

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to verify the efficacy of lifestyle self-monitoring for the improvement of the IBS and reveal what has been changed due to the intervention. Methods: A total of 111 nursing school students were randomized into three groups, two intervention groups (a two-month intervention group, n = 34, and a four-month intervention group, n = 35) and a control group (n = 34). The intervention groups conducted lifestyle self-monitoring in conjunction with a 15-minutes group work for either two or four months. The primary outcome measure was Rome II criteria for IBS. Other outcome measures were the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS). They were assessed at the baseline and the end of both of the intervention periods. Analysis was conducted as intention-to-treat. Results: The prevalence of IBS did not change significantly after the intervention in any of the groups. The HAD-A score, a subscale of the HADS score for anxiety, decreased 1.4 points in the two-month intervention group (p = 0.02) and 2.3 points in the four-month intervention group of (p = 0.01) after intervention. The average GSRS decreased 0.2 points in the control group (p = 0.05) and 0.3 points in the four-month intervention group (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Lifestyle self-monitoring for two or four months did not reduce the prevalence of the IBS significantly, but it did decrease anxiety and improved the QOL related to gastrointestinal symptoms in female nursing school students.

 

Keywords

Lifestyle; Self-Monitoring; Irritable Bowel Syndrome; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale; Nursing School

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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