Personality traits and emotional patterns in irritable bowel syndrome.
The review focuses on those personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness), constructs (alexithymia and distressed - Type D personality) and emotional patterns (negative and positive) that are of particular concern in health psychology, with the aim to highlight their potential role on the pathogenesis, onset, symptom clusters, clinical course, and outcome of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Personality traits and emotional patterns play key roles in affecting autonomic, immune, inflammatory, and endocrine functions, thus contributing not only to IBS clinical expression and symptomatic burden, but also to disease physiopathology. In this sense, psychological treatments should address those personality traits and emotional features that are constitutive of, and integral to IBS. The biopsychosocial model of illness applied to IBS acknowledges the interaction between biological, psychological, environmental, and social factors in relation to pain and functional disability. A holistic approach to IBS should take into account the heterogeneous nature of the disorder, and differentiate treatments for different types of IBS, also considering the marked individual differences in prevalent personality traits and emotional patterns. Beyond medications, and lifestyle/dietary interventions, psychological and educational treatments may provide the optimal chance of addressing clinical symptoms, comorbid conditions, and quality of life in IBS patients.
Maria Rosaria A Muscatello, Antonio Bruno, Carmela Mento, Gianluca Pandolfo, Rocco A Zoccali, Psychiatry Unit, Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy.
Maria Rosaria A
MR
Muscatello
Maria Rosaria A Muscatello, Antonio Bruno, Carmela Mento, Gianluca Pandolfo, Rocco A Zoccali, Psychiatry Unit, Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy.
Antonio
A
Bruno
Maria Rosaria A Muscatello, Antonio Bruno, Carmela Mento, Gianluca Pandolfo, Rocco A Zoccali, Psychiatry Unit, Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy.
Carmela
C
Mento
Maria Rosaria A Muscatello, Antonio Bruno, Carmela Mento, Gianluca Pandolfo, Rocco A Zoccali, Psychiatry Unit, Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy.
Gianluca
G
Pandolfo
Maria Rosaria A Muscatello, Antonio Bruno, Carmela Mento, Gianluca Pandolfo, Rocco A Zoccali, Psychiatry Unit, Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy.
Rocco A
RA
Zoccali
D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000523:psychology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D005120:Extraversion, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000523:psychology*; D000075384:Neuroticism; D010551:Personality; D011788:Quality of Life; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D064415:Type D Personality
Alexithymia; Anger; Anxiety; Conscientiousness; Depression; Emotions; Extraversion; Irritable bowel syndrome; Neuroticism; Personality