Mood interventions might help reduce inflammation in Crohn’s and Colitis

New King’s College London research reveals that interventions which improve mood can reduce levels of inflammation in people with inflammatory bowel disease by 18 per cent, compared to having no mood intervention.

Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London found that interventions designed to improve mood, including psychological therapy, antidepressants, and exercise, were associated with significant reductions in inflammatory biomarker levels in individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Interventions for mood may present an alternative treatment for IBD that is both effective and low-cost.

Inflammatory biomarkers can be found in the body to indicate areas and types of inflammation. Researchers analysed existing studies on levels of the biomarkers C-Reactive Protein and faecal calprotectin which are specific indicators of IBD, as well as a combined measure of other inflammatory biomarkers.

The systematic review and meta-analysis published in eBiomedicine, part of The Lancet Discovery Science, is the first to investigate the relationship between interventions aiming to treat mood and levels of inflammatory biomarkers in IBD. The findings suggest that interventions for mood present a strategy to improve mental health and reduce inflammation in IBD.

The researchers conducted a search of more than 15,000 articles, looking for all randomised controlled trials in adults with IBD that measured levels of inflammatory biomarkers and tested a mood intervention (for example, interventions to reduce depression, anxiety, stress and distress, or improve emotional wellbeing).

They reviewed and analysed data from 28 randomised controlled trials involving over 1,700 participants to establish whether interventions targeting mood outcomes impact inflammation levels in IBD.

Researchers found that psychological therapies, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, had the best outcomes on inflammation in IBD, compared with antidepressants and exercise interventions. Interventions which had a larger positive effect on mood had a greater effect on reducing inflammatory biomarkers. These findings suggest that the mechanism underlying the effect of psychological and social interventions on inflammation in IBD could be improved mood.

Reference: Mood interventions may reduce inflammation in Crohn’s and Colitis; EBioMedicine; DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104910