Findings from University of Kent provide new insights into ankylosing spondylitis
2007 NOV 21 -- "The study aimed to evaluate the impact of a written emotional disclosure intervention on psychological and physical health outcomes in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients. Forty-five male and twenty-three female AS patients (mean age 52 years) were randomly assigned to write about either stressful (intervention) or neutral (control) topics for 20 min on 3 consecutive days," investigators in Canterbury, the United Kingdom report. "Three months after writing, intervention participants evidenced significantly better functional status than controls. However, other measures of physical and psychological health were unchanged and the improvement in functional status was not clinically significant. Health improvements in the intervention group were significantly associated with linguistic content reflecting emotional and cognitive processing," wrote K.E. Hamiltonwest and colleagues, University of Kent. The researchers concluded: "Limitations of the emotional disclosure intervention and future research directions are discussed." Hamiltonwest and colleagues published their study in Psychology & Health (Effects of written emotional disclosure on health outcomes in patients with ankylosing spondylitis. Psychology & Health, 2007;22(6):637-657). For additional information, contact K.E. Hamiltonwest, University of Kent, Dept. of Psychology, Canterbury CT2 7NP, Kent, UK. The publisher of the journal Psychology & Health can be contacted at: Taylor & Francis Ltd., 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon OX14 4RN, Oxon, England. Keywords: United Kingdom, Canterbury, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Rheumatology, University of Kent. This article was prepared by Immunotherapy Weekly editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2007, Immunotherapy Weekly via NewsRx.com.
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