Comparison of the effects of hypnotic relaxation, anger, and happiness on the discomfort thresholds (volume and pressure) in irritable bowel syndrome patients with a diarrhoea or constipation predominant, or alternating bowel habit
| Awake (control) | Hypnotic relaxation | Hypnotic happiness | Hypnotic anger | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results are expressed as geometric mean (95% confidence interval). | ||||
| *p<0.05, **p<0.09 compared with awake. | ||||
| †p<0.05, ††p<0.08 compared with relaxation. | ||||
| ‡‡p<0.01 compared with happiness. | ||||
| Diarrhoea predominant bowel habit (n=5) | ||||
| Volume (ml) | 134 (90, 200) | 164 (122, 200)** | 181 (148, 221)* | 100 (67, 164)**† |
| Pressure (cm H2O) | 30 (20, 49) | 30 (16, 55) | 45 (30, 60)* | 45 (33, 55) |
| Constipation predominant bowel habit (n=8) | ||||
| Volume (ml) | 134 (67, 221) | 148 (100, 200) | 164 (134, 221)† | 90 (45, 164)††‡‡ |
| Pressure (cm H2O) | 27 (20, 40) | 22 (15, 33) | 37 (25, 49) | 33 (22, 49)* |
| Alternating bowel habit (n=7) | ||||
| Volume (ml) | 122 (90, 181) | 164 (122, 221)* | 122 (90, 181)† | 67 (40, 122) *†‡‡ |
| Pressure (cm H2O) | 30 (20, 49) | 20 (15, 27) | 33 (30, 40) | 37 (22, 60) *†‡‡ |