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World J Gastroenterol. Sep 7, 2017; 23(33): 6059-6064
Published online Sep 7, 2017. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i33.6059
Behavioral gastroenterology: An emerging system and new frontier of action
Lin Jia, Shu-Man Jiang, Jing Liu
Lin Jia, Shu-Man Jiang, Jing Liu, Department of Gastroenterology, Guangzhou First People’s Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510180, Guangdong Province, China
Lin Jia, Shu-Man Jiang, Jing Liu, Department of Gastroenterology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510180, Guangdong Province, China
Author contributions: Jia L performed the majority of the writing; Jiang SM participated in data acquisition and manuscript writing; Liu J provided the input in writing the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There is no conflict of interest associated with any of the senior author or other coauthors contributing their efforts in this manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Lin Jia, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, 1 Panfu Road, Guangzhou 510180, Guangdong Province, China. gdjialin@gzhmu.edu.cn
Telephone: +86-20-81048888 Fax: +86-20-81628809
Received: May 11, 2017
Peer-review started: May 23, 2017
First decision: June 22, 2017
Revised: June 28, 2017
Accepted: July 22, 2017
Article in press: July 24, 2017
Published online: September 7, 2017
Processing time: 107 Days and 4.8 Hours
Abstract

Behavioral gastroenterology is a new interdisciplinary science that explores the influence of unhealthy lifestyles and psychological factors on the digestive system and addresses the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of digestive diseases. Moreover, the concept of whole-course intervention with a focus on disease prevention and a new model of integrated therapy based on alterations of lifestyle and psychology are being gradually established. This paradigm may substantively impact the prevention and treatment of digestive diseases.

Keywords: Behavioral gastroenterology; Lifestyle; Psychological factors

Core tip: As a new interdisciplinary subject, behavioral gastroenterology shows a new concept of whole-course intervention with a focus on disease prevention and a new pattern of integrated therapy based on lifestyle and psychosocial adjustments. It will help both clinicians and patients to alter the old idea of focusing on traditional drugs or surgery, and this new paradigm is expected to become gastroenterology’s new frontier of action.