Psychotherapy Interventions To Improve Mood Also Reduce Inflammation By 18% Among People With IBD; Antidepressants Are Not More Effective

Psychotherapy interventions focused on improving mood reduced symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) by 18% compared to a control group that participated in no interventions, according to a meta-analysis. The interventions that had a larger positive effect on mood had a greater effect on IBD inflammation biomarkers, which the researchers said suggested that mood improvements directly influenced the immune system and inflammation. The effect sizes were larger for psychotherapy interventions than for exercise or antidepressants.

Depression and anxiety are common among people with IBD and are associated with worse IBD outcomes. An earlier study (published in 2022) found that . . .