A systematic review and meta-analysis of mindfulness based interventions and yoga in inflammatory bowel disease

Mindfulness interventions are increasingly used as a part of integrated treatment in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) but there are limited data and a lack of consensus regarding effectiveness. We explored the efficacy of mindfulness interventions compared to treatment as usual (TAU), or other psychotherapeutic interventions, in treating physical and psychosocial symptoms associated with IBD. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We included a broad range of mindfulness interventions including mindfulness-based interventions and yoga, with no restrictions on date of publication, participants' age, language or publication type. We searched the following electronic databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL and WHO ICTRP database. We adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines in conducting the review. We included eight studies in the meta-analysis. Mindfulness interventions showed a statistically significant effect on stress in both the short(SMD = −0.48; 95%CI:–0.97, 0.00; P = .05), and long term(SMD = −0.55; 95%CI:-0.78, −0.32; P