Coping with the burden of irritable bowel syndrome by emotional suppression—A cross sectional observational pilot study

TL;DR

This study found that people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) use emotional suppression more than those without IBS, which may worsen their psychological stress.

Contribution

The study is the first to show a link between emotional suppression and IBS severity using a clinical pilot approach.

Findings

IBS patients showed significantly higher emotional suppression compared to non-IBS individuals.

Emotional suppression was most notable for depression, anxiety, and anger in IBS patients.

The study suggests emotional suppression is a negative coping mechanism for IBS-related stress.

Abstract

Psychological stress like depression, anxiety, and anger is a common comorbidity of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This clinical pilot study aimed to investigate if individuals employ emotional suppression to cope with the psychological burden associated with IBS.

Emotional suppression was measured with the Courtauld Emotional Control Scale (CECS) in non‐IBS (50 women/50 men; average age 24.5 years) and IBS subjects (58 women/41 men; average age 41.0 years). IBS diagnosis was performed using the IBS questionnaire for Health Care Providers of the World Gastroenterology Organization, and the severity of IBS symptoms was assessed with the IBS Severity Scoring System.

Individuals with moderate to severe IBS showed significantly higher emotional suppression compared with non‐IBS subjects. Scores (median, interquartile range (IQR)) of the general coefficient of emotional control were 52.0 (IQR 48–56) vs. 45.0 (IQR 43–48) (p < 0.001), for depression 19.0 (IQR 17–21) versus 15.5 (IQR 15–17) (p < 0.001), for anxiety 17.0 (IQR 15–18) versus 15.0 (IQR 14–16) (p < 0.001), and for anger 16.0 (IQR 15–19) versus 14.5 (IQR 13–16) (p < 0.001) for IBS and non‐IBS subjects, respectively.

IBS patients have higher emotional control levels compared with non‐IBS patients. Concealing emotions is considered a negative approach for dealing with psychological stress. Physicians and individuals with IBS should be aware of these facts. Including therapeutic approaches to address emotional control as part of IBS treatment is recommended.

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