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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research-article
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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
Core Tip
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.
