Effects of Duloxetine on Gastrointestinal Symptoms, Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and Quality of Life in Patients with the Moderate-to-Severe Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic disease. There are very few studies on the Duloxetine efficacy in improving the gastrointestinal and psychological symptoms, in IBS. The current study attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of Duloxetine in symptoms and quality of life in moderate-to-severe IBS patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial in which the population is composed of 37 patients with moderate-to-severe IBS in Isfahan from March 2018 to March 2019. For the intervention group, Duloxetine was administered for three months, and the treatment protocol was the same for the control group but using a placebo. The severity of IBS symptoms, quality of life, and negative emotions such as depression, anxiety, and stress were assessed. RESULTS: Our data showed no significant difference between the two groups of the study for the severity of IBS symptoms (P value = 0.150); however, in the intervention group, it was significantly lower than controls after six, eight, and ten weeks of the intervention (P value = 0.023). Overall evaluation of the quality of life in patients indicated significantly higher quality of life in the Duloxetine group than the control group from the eighth week to the twelfth week after the intervention (P value <0.038). Anxiety and stress in the Duloxetine group were significantly lower than controls after the intervention (P value <0.05). CONCLUSION: Duloxetine is probably helpful for reducing anxiety, stress, and the severity of symptoms in IBS patients. It also could increase the quality of life in patients.