The Significance of the Impact of Stress's Role in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Open Access
- Author:
- Price, Emily
- Area of Honors:
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Timothy Raymond Brick, Thesis Supervisor
Alyssa Ann Gamaldo, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Stress
IBD
Mindfulness - Abstract:
- Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract have somewhat recently become more common among society. Of these diseases, one example acquiring a lot of attention is inflammatory bowel disease, also known as IBD. Though literature on the disease’s etiology and pathogenesis is available, the influence of environmental factors remains largely inconclusive. An example of an ambiguous environmental factor is stress. Studies on the role of stress in IBD have produced conflicting results. While there is a potential relationship between stress and inflammatory bowel disease activity, its significance has not been settled across research. This paper examines the relationship between IBD and stress in scientific literature, and in the context of patient anecdotes. Stress is also examined as a potential target of treatment through the implementation of mindfulness-based interventions. Other factors with inconclusive relationships to IBD are noted as potential influences on disease activity that warrant attention, due to their potential to be used as targets of treatment to reduce IBD symptoms. The purpose of this investigation was to determine where more scientific research is needed in the field of IBD, as indicated by the aspects of disease-maintenance about which patients express the most dissatisfaction. Patient testimony unveils gaps in the scientific literature; together these two components can synthesize a more comprehensive narrative of disease etiology and pathogenesis. Determining a more concrete array of causes provides an opportunity to develop treatment methods that may be more efficient and successful in improving patient quality of life.