Long-term effects of hypnotherapy in patients with refractory irritable bowel syndrome

Abstract

Objective. Gut-directed hypnotherapy is considered to be an effective treatment in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) but few studies report the long-term effects. This retrospective study aims to evaluate the long-term perceived efficacy of gut-directed hypnotherapy given outside highly specialized hypnotherapy centers. Methods. 208 patients, who all had received gut-directed hypnotherapy, were retrospectively evaluated. The Subjective Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) was used to measure changes in IBS symptoms, and patients were classified as responders and non-responders. Patients were also asked to report changes in health-care seeking, use of drugs for IBS symptoms, use of alternative non-pharmacological treatments, and if they still actively used hypnotherapy. Results. Immediately after hypnotherapy, 103 of 208 patients (49%) were responders and 75 of these (73%) had improved further at the follow-up 2–7 years after hypnotherapy (mean 4 years). A majority of the responders still used hypnotherapy on a regular basis at follow-up (73%), and the responders reported a greater reduction in health-care seeking than non-responders. A total of 87% of all patients reported that they considered gut-directed hypnotherapy to be worthwhile, and this differed between responders and non-responders (100% vs. 74%; p < 0.0001). Conclusion. This long-term follow-up study indicates that gut-directed hypnotherapy in refractory IBS is an effective treatment option with long-lasting effects, also when given outside highly specialized hypnotherapy centers. Apart from the clinical benefits, the reduction in health-care utilization has the potential to reduce the health-care costs.

Key Words::

• hypnotherapy
• IBS

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to the psychologists who provided the hypnotherapy in this study – Susanna Carolusson, Berndt Westman, and Anne Holmgren in Gothenburg, Martha Sjöberg and Johan Mellberg in Stockholm, and Patrik Arvidsson in Gävle. This study was supported by Västra Götaland Region (Dagmar funds), the Swedish Medical Research Council (grants 13409, 21691 and 21692), the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation, University of Gothenburg, Centre for Person-Centred Care (GPCC), Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, the Faculty of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, and the Centre for Clinical Research, Gävleborg.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.