Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice最新文献

Background

and Purpose: Outdoor play is widely acknowledged for its benefits to physical health and psychological well-being, yet its relationship with school readiness remains understudied in preschoolers. To address this gap in the literature, this study investigated how outdoor play relates to cognitive and psychosocial development among a nationally representative sample of preschoolers.

Materials and method

Data on the duration of outdoor play (on weekdays and weekends) and specific cognitive and psychosocial outcome variables (i.e., early learning skills, self-regulation, social-emotional development, and flourishing) were collected via questionnaires provided to the caregivers of preschoolers. Logistic regressions were performed to examine the associations between outdoor play with cognitive and psychosocial outcomes while adjusting for covariates and calculate the odds ratio with 95 % confidence intervals (CI).

Results

Among the 10,682 preschoolers (i.e., 3-5y) included in this study (i.e., 5558 boys, Mage = 3.98 ± 0.99 years), there was a lower percentage of preschoolers engaged in outdoor play for over 3 h per day on weekdays (33.39 %) compared to weekends (56.85 %). Outdoor play in preschoolers is positively associated with various domains of school readiness, and engaging in outdoor play for more than 3 h per day is associated with more beneficial outcomes.

Conclusion

The findings of this cross-sectional study suggest that promoting outdoor play among preschoolers can be an effective strategy for enhancing cognitive, social, and emotional development in this age group although further intervention studies are required to buttress this assumption empirically.

Objectives

This study aimed to explore the synergistic impact of online yoga, mindfulness practices, and probiotics on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) by evaluating changes in physical fitness, mental health, and gut microbiota composition.

Design, setting and interventions

The six-week randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial included 31 IBS patients categorized into three groups: online yoga with probiotics (EP), online yoga with a placebo (EC), and probiotics only (P). Assessments involved physical fitness tests, subjective questionnaires (IBS-QOL, BSRS-5), and gut microbiome analysis.

Main outcome measures

Participants self-collected stool samples and were given a set of questionnaires at baseline and after six weeks of intervention. Their symptoms were measured by changes in the gut microbiota, physical fitness and quality of life, and psychological well-being.

Results

The EP group demonstrated improved cardiovascular endurance (P < 0.001) and a significant reduction in Klebsiella bacterial strains (P < 0.05). Both the EP and EC groups exhibited significantly decreased IBS-QOL scores (P < 0.001 and P < 0.05, respectively), indicating enhanced quality of life. While BSRS-5 scores decreased in both groups, the reduction was statistically insignificant.

Conclusion

Integrating online yoga, mindfulness practices, and probiotics demonstrated comprehensive benefits for IBS patients. This intervention improved physical fitness and mental well-being and positively influenced gut microbiota composition. The study highlights the potential of this multifaceted approach in managing IBS symptoms and enhancing overall health, emphasizing the relevance of the gut-muscle-brain axis in understanding and addressing IBS complexities.

Trial registration

Taiwanese Registry of Institutional Review Board IRBHP210009/CH11000259.

Background

and Purpose: With mindfulness being increasingly recognized for its potential to address psychological challenges related to advanced or terminal illnesses, palliative care professionals are incorporating mindfulness-based interventions into their practice. However, there is limited understanding of the practical applications of mindfulness in clinical settings, particularly for end-of-life patients. This study explored palliative care professionals’ experiences in delivering mindfulness-based therapy to end-of-life patients, thereby aiming to inform the development of effective interventions.

Materials and methods

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 palliative care professionals. Participants were asked to describe their memorable experiences in applying mindfulness in a clinical setting. Data were analyzed following Moustakas's transcendental phenomenology approach.

Results

The interviews produced three themes: clinicians’ mindfulness experiences form the cornerstone of their clinical application of mindfulness; creating an optimal healing environment is essential for mindfulness practice; and patient-centric mindfulness guidance should be implemented.

Conclusion

This study underscores the critical role of mindfulness in end-of-life care, highlighting its integration into daily life by palliative care professionals. By drawing upon their own mindfulness experiences, palliative care professionals facilitated a therapeutic environment tailored to the unique needs of end-of-life patients. This patient-centered approach not only enhanced the quality of care but also fostered a healing connection rooted in compassion and empathy. The findings advocate for further education and development of mindfulness-based interventions, including group therapies, to support the holistic well-being of patients in collectivist cultures. Future research should further explore the practical applications and benefits of mindfulness in end-of-life care settings.

Background

Contemporary 24-h movement behavior (24-HMB) guidelines provide recommendations on time spent on physical activity (PA), screen time (ST), and sleep (SL). There is evidence of physiological and psychological health benefits associated with meeting such guidelines. However, the prevalence of meeting 24-HMB guidelines among youth prescribed eyeglasses/contact lenses is less clear. The primary purpose of this cross-sectional analysis was to examine the prevalence of partially or fully meeting 24-HMB guidelines in U.S. youth prescribed eyeglasses/contact lenses, and variations in meeting the guidelines by demographic, health status, and environmental attributes.

Methods

Data from the 2021 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) yielded a target subpopulation of 8523 youth aged 6–17 years (54.22 % girls) prescribed eyeglasses/contact lenses. The representative sample of US children and adolescents was used to estimate the prevalence of meeting 24-HMB guidelines, and a multinomial logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the odds of meeting 24-HMB guidelines by demographic, health status, and environmental variables.

Results

Overall, only 6.57 % met all three 24-HMB guidelines, 23.74 % did not meet any of the three 24-HMB guidelines, and 3.57 %, 10.88 %, and 29.98 % met single guidelines for physical activity, screen time, or sleep duration, respectively, while 25.27 % met any of two 24-HMB guidelines. Female participants were less likely to meet PA + SL guidelines (OR = 0.57, 95 % CI [0.38, 0.56]) but more likely to meet ST + SL guidelines (OR = 1.52, 95 % CI [1.20, 1.91]). Hispanic participants were less likely to meet PA + ST (OR = 0.28, 95 % CI [0.14, 0.52]) guidelines and all three guidelines (OR = 0.41, 95 % CI [0.23, 0.71]) while participants identified as black (OR = 0.33, 95 % CI [0.21, 0.51]) were significantly less likely to meet ST + SL guidelines. With respect to health status, overweight status, repeated/chronic physical pain, and born premature, were detrimentally associated with meeting two or more 24-HMB guidelines. Living in neighborhoods with parks or playgrounds and neighborhood safety were positively linked to meeting the guidelines while living in neighborhoods with sidewalks or walking paths was negatively linked to meeting PA + ST guidelines.

Conclusion

In U.S. youth prescribed eyeglasses/contact lenses the prevalence of meeting all three 24-HMB guidelines was low, especially the low prevalence observed in female participants, Hispanic and black participants, participants with overweight status, repeated/chronic pain, born premature, living in neighborhoods with sidewalks. Policy makers should take initiative to promote integrated guidelines among this special age group for health benefits.

This study examined the usefulness of drama and music therapies as communication strategies for reducing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) among school children (aged 10–16) who were victims of the 2022 floods in Nigeria. The researchers randomly assigned the children to control (n = 122) drama therapy (n = 120) and music therapy (n = 120) groups. The result of the study revealed that after the intervention, school children in the drama and music therapies (unlike those in the control group) reported a significant reduction in their PTSD and GAD symptoms; the reduction achieved statistical significance (p = 0.001, η_p² = 0.48). Further results revealed a significant interactive effect of gender (p = 0.001) with boys reporting a significant reduction more than girls. The results showed that drama therapy contributed more to reducing PTSD symptoms, while music therapy contributed more to reducing GAD symptoms. The difference did not achieve statistical significance (p = 0.23). The researchers conclude that both drama and music therapies were associated with reduced symptoms, indicating the interventions may be beneficial therapies.

Background and purpose

A growing number of studies have investigated the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PDPN), but the findings of these studies have generated conflicting results. This study therefore aimed to assess the efficacy of acupuncture for treating PDPN so as to offer more conclusive results.

Methods

Seven databases were systematically searched for studies published up until December 1, 2023. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture for PDPN with visual analog scale (VAS) for pain score were included. Study selection, data extraction, and evaluation were conducted independently by researchers. The Risk of Bias 2 (RoB2) tool was employed to assess the risk of bias. From this sample, the mean difference (MD), 95 % confidence intervals (CI), publication bias, and heterogeneity were then computed.

Results

The manual acupuncture group exhibited a significant decrease in the VAS for pain score compared with the routine care group (p < 0.0001; MD = −1.45 [95 % CI, −1.97 to −0.93], I² = 84 %). The real acupuncture group demonstrated a greater reduction in VAS scores than the sham acupuncture group (p = 0.004; MD = −0.97 [95 % CI, −1.63 to −0.31], I² = 65 %). Additionally, the acupuncture group showed improvements in sensory nerve conduction velocity (SNCV, p < 0.0001; MD = 2.29 [95 % CI, 1.79 to 2.78], I² = 14 %) as well as motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV, p < 0.0001; MD = 2.87 [95 % CI, 2.46 to 3.27], I² = 0). Different durations of acupuncture treatment, including 6–10 weeks and 3–4 weeks, demonstrated a significant reduction in VAS scores compared with the routine care group.

Conclusion

This meta-analysis provides preliminary evidence for the claim that acupuncture has the potential to alleviate PDPN symptoms and improve SNCV and MNCV. However, high-quality RCTs are needed to offer further evidence and thus better substantiate such a contention.

Objective

This study aims to ascertain the effectiveness of creative art therapy (CAT) in alleviating symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD).

Methods

A systematic review of all randomized controlled trials of CAT for PPD was conducted. Eight bibliographic databases, namely, PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang Database, VIP Database, and China Biomedical Literature Database were searched digitally, while Google Scholar database was searched manually for a comprehensive literature search. The search period is from the establishment of the database to May 2024. Literature screening and data extraction were conducted independently by two researchers, and the risk of bias in the included studies was evaluated. Finally, RevMan5.3 software and STATA 15.1 software were used for meta-analysis.

Results

Twelve studies, including 1633 patients, were included in this review. The results of our meta-analysis revealed that the intervention group was significantly better than the control group in depression [SMD = −0.882, 95 % CI: −1.256 to −0.508, P ＜ 0.001][WMD = 0.680, 95 % CI: 0.407–0.953, P ＜ 0.001], anxiety [SMD = −0.712, 95 % CI: −1.405 to −0.019, P = 0.044], and personal state [WMD = −5.180, 95 % CI: −5.869 to −4.491, P ＜ 0.001][SMD = 0.388, 95 % CI: 0.132–0.643, P = 0.003], and the difference was statistically significant. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the above results were stable.

Conclusion

CAT (music and creative games) was found to be effective in relieving depression, anxiety, and personal state in patients with PPD. Though CAT appears to be worthy of clinical application, more high-quality and large-sample studies are required to explore various aspects in the current context.

Background

and Purpose: Pilates exercises have been recommended to improve postural balance and reduce the risk of falls in older adults. However, the certainty of these recommendations remains unclear. In this sense, our objective was to update the literature and verify the effects of Pilates on postural balance and the risk of falls in this population.

Methods

A systematic search was conducted across multiple databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CINAHL, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, LILACS, and PEDro, on April 17, 2023. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the PEDro scale, and the certainty of evidence was evaluated using the GRADE system. Meta-analysis calculations were performed by standardized mean difference (SMD).

Results

A total of 39 studies, involving 1770 participants, were included in the systematic review. Only 14 studies exhibited satisfactory methodological quality. Evidence with very low to moderate certainty showed that Pilates was significantly superior to control groups on indicators of dynamic postural balance (SMD = 1.60 to 0.72), static postural balance (SMD = 0.37 to 0.25), and general state of balance (SMD = 0.76), but not to reduce the number and fear of falls. Furthermore, Pilates was comparable to other forms of exercise for these outcomes.

Conclusions

Pilates can be recommended to enhance static and dynamic postural balance in older adults, but not to reduce the number of falls or the fear of falling. Given that no outcomes showed high certainty of evidence, future studies may alter these findings.

Objective

To diminish the negative influence of sarcopenia on senior adults, the study aimed to investigate the association between adherence to 24-h movement behavior guidelines (physical activity, sedentary behavior, sleep duration) and the risk of sarcopenia among individuals aged ≥55 years in five low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Methods

A total of 16,503 adults aged ≥55 years were included in this cross-sectional study. The study utilized data from Global Aging and Adult Health Survey (SAGE). Participants reported their information about physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep duration using the questionnaire. Sarcopenia was identified as low skeletal muscle mass with a diminished gait speed or weakened handgrip strength. Multiple logistic regression models were used to investigate the association between adherence to 24-h movement behavior guidelines and the risk of sarcopenia.

Results

Merely 32.73 % of participants met all three 24-h movement behavior guidelines (physical activity, less sedentary behavior, sleep). Meeting all three guidelines (p < 0.01) was significantly associated with a lower risk of sarcopenia. Meeting physical activity only (p < 0.05), or meeting both physical activity and sedentary behaivor (p < 0.05), or meeting both physical activity and sleep duration (p < 0.01) guidelines were also associated with a reduced risk of sarcopenia. Moreover, adults aged 65+ years who adhered to 24-h movement behavior guidelines exhibited a significantly reduced risk of developing sarcopenia.

Conclusion

The findings suggest that the adherence to 24-h movement behavior guidelines for regular physical activity, limited sedentary behavior, and sufficient sleep duration was associated with a reduced risk of sarcopenia in adults aged ≥55 years in five LMICs.

Background and purpose

Previous studies have suggested that music listening has the potential to positively affect cognitive functions and mood in individuals with post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI), with a preference for self-selected music likely to yield better outcomes. However, there is insufficient clinical evidence to suggest the use of music listening in routine rehabilitation care to treat PSCI. This randomized control trial (RCT) aims to investigate the effects of personalized music listening on mood improvement, activities of daily living (ADLs), and cognitive functions in individuals with PSCI.

Materials and methods

A total of 34 patients with PSCI were randomly assigned to either the music group or the control group. Patients in the music group underwent a three-month personalized music-listening intervention. The intervention involved listening to a personalized playlist tailored to each individual's cultural, ethnic, and social background, life experiences, and personal music preferences. In contrast, the control group patients listened to white noise as a placebo. Cognitive function, neurological function, mood, and ADLs were assessed.

Results

After three months of treatment, the music group showed significantly higher Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores compared to the control group (p=0.027), particularly in the domains of delayed recall (p=0.019) and orientation (p=0.023). Moreover, the music group demonstrated significantly better scores in National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) (p=0.008), Barthel Index (BI) (p=0.019), and Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (ZBI) (p=0.008) compared to the control group. No effects were found on mood as measured by the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD).

Conclusion

Personalized music listening promotes the recovery of cognitive and neurological functions, improves ADLs, and reduces caregiver burden in patients with PSCI.