The relationship between cognitive emotion regulation mechanisms and lifestyle with perceived stress in patients with irritable bowel syndrome

Gastrointestinal disorders are ranked first among medical disorders to seek psychiatric consultation. Irritable bowel syndrome is one of these diseases. Various researches report multiple causes for this syndrome and emphasize the role of psychological factors in causing or exacerbating symptoms of this disorder. This study aims to investigate the relationship between cognitive emotion regulation mechanisms and lifestyle with perceived stress in patients with irritable bowel syndrome disorder. For this purpose, in a descriptive study of correlation, 170 patients with irritable bowel syndrome (93 females and 77 males) were selected by availability sampling method from the specialized clinics in Orumiyeh city, and evaluated for mechanisms of cognitive emotion regulation, lifestyle and perceived stress. Regression analysis showed that there is a significant relationship between cognitive emotion regulation mechanisms and life style and perceived stress. Among the predictive variables, blaming others factor had the greatest predictive power in perceived stress. Additionally, linear regression analysis displayed predicting lifestyle as a predictive factor for stress among patients with this syndrome. This study verifies the relationship between cognitive emotion regulation mechanisms and lifestyle and perceived stress in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Because of the numerous evidence of pathology of this syndrome, more research is needed on emotional regulation skills and related problems among patients with irritable bowel syndrome disorder.