Fu QW, Jiang YL, Ge XY, Yang JH. Efficacy of psychotherapies in individuals with inflammatory bowel disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis. World J Psychiatry 2026; 16(8): 119197 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.119197]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Jian-Hua Yang, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medicine, Jiangxi Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang University, No. 461 Bayi Avenue, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China. jianhuayang_ncu@163.com
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Gastroenterology & Hepatology
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Fu QW, Jiang YL, Ge XY, Yang JH. Efficacy of psychotherapies in individuals with inflammatory bowel disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis. World J Psychiatry 2026; 16(8): 119197 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.119197]
World J Psychiatry. Aug 19, 2026; 16(8): 119197 Published online Aug 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.119197
Efficacy of psychotherapies in individuals with inflammatory bowel disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Qi-Wen Fu, Yu-Lin Jiang, Xin-Yi Ge, Jian-Hua Yang
Qi-Wen Fu, Yu-Lin Jiang, The Queen Mary School of Nanchang University, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China
Xin-Yi Ge, The Second Clinical Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China
Jian-Hua Yang, Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medicine, Jiangxi Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China
Author contributions: Fu QW performed the statistical analysis and drafted the manuscript; Jiang YL and Ge XY conducted the literature search and study screening and extracted the data; Yang JH conceived and designed the study, supervised the project, and critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content; all authors have read the final manuscript and approved it for publication.
Supported by the Jiangxi Provincial Natural Science Foundation, No. 20242BAB25581.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interest in publishing the manuscript.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Corresponding author: Jian-Hua Yang, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medicine, Jiangxi Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang University, No. 461 Bayi Avenue, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China. jianhuayang_ncu@163.com
Received: January 22, 2026 Revised: February 24, 2026 Accepted: April 20, 2026 Published online: August 19, 2026 Processing time: 178 Days and 7.6 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Previous systematic reviews focused mainly on psychological health outcomes, with limited and non-systematic evaluations of biological markers reflecting gut-brain interactions. As psychotherapies are increasingly used as adjunctive treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a multidimensional evaluation of outcomes is warranted. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined quality of life, psychological symptoms, and clinical/inflammatory outcomes in patients with IBD. We hypothesized that psychotherapy primarily affects subjective outcomes rather than objective clinical or inflammatory measures.
AIM
To investigate the efficacy of psychotherapies vs control conditions in patients with IBD.
METHODS
A comprehensive search of the EMBASE, PubMed, and Cochrane Library databases was conducted, and randomized controlled trials comparing the efficacy of psychotherapeutic interventions with that of usual interventions in patients with IBD were included. Two reviewers independently screened the records and extracted the data. Effect estimates were synthesized using a random-effects model, and heterogeneity was quantified by the I² statistic; risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. In total, 29 studies involving 2426 patients were included.
RESULTS
Psychotherapies improved the IBD Questionnaire total score [standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.23, 95%CI: 0.06-0.40; P = 0.007; I² = 29%]. This overall gain was driven by significant improvements in the emotional (SMD = 0.43, 95%CI: 0.19-0.67; P = 0.0006; I² = 50%) and systemic domains (SMD = 0.30, 95%CI: 0.08-0.52; P = 0.007; I² = 39%), while there was no significant difference in bowel symptoms, and the heterogeneity was high (I² = 90%). Social function was not significantly different. Psychotherapy also modestly reduced anxiety (SMD = -0.29, 95%CI: -0.51 to -0.07; P = 0.01) and depression (SMD = -0.26, 95%CI: -0.41 to -0.11; P = 0.0006).
CONCLUSION
Psychotherapy improves quality of life in patients with IBD and reduces anxiety and depression, supporting its use as an adjunct to standard care to enhance overall well-being.
Core Tip: The gut-brain axis may explain why psychotherapies benefit patients with inflammatory bowel disease beyond symptom control. This meta-analysis integrates randomized evidence across disease-specific quality of life and psychological, clinical, and inflammatory outcomes. Psychotherapy shows the most consistent gains in patient-reported outcomes, particularly in the emotional and systemic quality-of-life domains, with modest improvements in anxiety and depression. In contrast, the effects on disease activity and systemic inflammatory markers are limited. These findings support psychotherapy as adjunctive inflammatory bowel disease care and underscore priorities for future trials, including standardized outcomes, longer follow-up, and gut-specific biomarkers.
