Long-term improvement in functional dyspepsia using hypnotherapy.

See editorial on page 2132. Background & Aims: We have shown hypnotherapy (HT) to be effective in irritable bowel syndrome, with longterm improvements in symptomatology andquality of life (QOL). This study aimed to assess the efficacy of HT in functional dyspepsia (FD). Methods: A total of 126 FD patients were randomized to HT, supportive therapy plus placebo medication, or medical treatment for 16 weeks. Percentage change in symptomatology from baseline was assessedafter the 16-week treatment phase (shortterm) andafter 56 weeks (long-term) with 26 HT, 24 supportive therapy, and29 med ical treatment patients completing all phases of the study. QOL was measured as a secondary outcome. Results: Short-term symptom scores improvedmore in the HT group (med ian, 59%) than in the supportive (41%; P 0.01) or medical treatment (33%; P 0.057) groups. HT also benefited QOL (42%) comparedwith either supportive therapy (10% [P < 0.001]) or medical treatment (11% [P < 0.001]). Long-term, HT significantly improvedsymptoms (73%) comparedwith supportive therapy (34% [ P < 0.02]) or medical treatment (43% [P < 0.01]). QOL improvedsignificantly more with HT (44%) than with medical treatment (20% [P < 0.001]). QOL did improve in the supportive therapy (43%) group, but 5 of these patients commenced taking antidepressants during follow-up. A total of 90% of the patients in the medical treatment group and82% of the patients in the supportive therapy group commenced medication during follow