Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) on symptoms, worry, and quality of life for people with functional dyspepsia. Among five hundred college students, twenty four people who met the diagnosis criteria for functional dyspepsia participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to one of two groups, the first of which received 10 weeks of MBCT (n=12), whereas the second was the control group (n=12) and received no MBCT. At pretreatment, the end of treatment, and at 4 week follow-up periods, all participants completed an Index of Dyspepsia Symptoms-Korean (IDS-K), a Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), and a Nepean Dyspepsia Index-Korean (NDI-K). MBCT was administered for 10 sessions. The results of this study were as follows: Dyspepsia symptoms and worry of the therapy group were decreased more than those of the control group, and gastrointestinal-related quality of life for the therapy group improved also more than those in the control group. The implications and the limitations of this study, and suggestions for future study will also be discussed.