Effectiveness of "Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation (tDCS) " on pain, quality of life related to health, anxiety and depression in women with irritable bowel syndrome

Introduction: Some patients with irritable bowel syndrome suffer from anxiety and depression, which can increase their pain and reduce their quality of life. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of “Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation (tDCS)” on pain, quality of life related to health, anxiety and depression in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Methods: This is a semi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design with a control group in women with irritable bowel syndrome in Dezful city, was performed in of 2019. 24 women were selected by purposive sampling method and divided into two experimental and control groups. Measuring instruments include the “Short-Form Mc Gill Pain Questionnaire”, the Questionnaire of “Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Quality of Life-34”, and "Hospital Anxiety and Desperation Scale." Content validity and reliability were measured using Cronbach's alpha coefficient method. For the experimental group, 10 individual sessions of “Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation (tDCS)” was used."Data were analyzed in SPSS.24.  Results: After the intervention, there was a significant difference between experimental and control groups in terms pain syndrome (F=19.29; p=0.001), quality of life related to health (F=39.93; p=0.001), anxiety (F=46.89; p=0.001), and depression (F=36.62; p=0.001).  Conclusions: "Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation (tDCS) " is able to reduce the amount of pain, anxiety and depression in women with irritable bowel syndrome and increase their quality of life. Therefore, it is recommended that internal medicine and gastroenterologists use a procedure based on "Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation (tDCS) " during treatment with health psychologists to treat these patients.