MBSR in adolescents with IBD
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An Evaluation of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Groups for Adolescents and Young Adults with Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis
IRAS ID
207335
Contact name
Deborah Christie
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 13 days
Research summary
Adolescence is a time of physical, social and emotional change associated with psychological distress, even in the absence of other significant life events. The emergence of a diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) during adolescence can be devastating. Evidence suggests that physical and psychological maturity may be delayed in adolescents in IBD and that this is a time of significant vulnerability.
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is the most well-known programme for the management of stress and chronic illness. It consists of an eight week group programme, in which participants are taught about the relationship between stress and illness and trained in mindfulness meditation practices. A number of studies have shown that MBSR mindfulness may be of use to individuals with IBD - particularly those with heightened stress reactivity such as adolescents.
We aim to investigate whether a mindfulness based psychological intervention can improve symptoms in adolescents with IBD. If psychological stress is shown to drive inflammation in teenagers with IBD, this would strongly support the need for a more proactive approach to addressing the psychological needs of adolescents as part of the overall management strategy of IBD as well as highlighting effective psychological approaches in stress management.
Adolescents (aged 15-24) with a formal diagnosis of IBD will be recruited from adolescent gastroenterology clinics. Participants will be randomised to either the intervention or the waiting list control.
The intervention will follow the core MBSR curriculum in a group format. The course will consist of 8 weekly sessions each lasting 1.5 hours. Once the interventional group have completed this 8 week curriculum, the waiting list control group undergo and complete the same intervention.
Significant improvements in self-reported symptom measures, biochemical and clincial profiling will be used to determine the success of the intervention.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/YH/0050
Date of REC Opinion
27 Feb 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion