This study assessed the profiles of psychological health and changes in neurohormones of adolescents with mild depression after 12 weeks of dance movement therapy (DMT). Forty middle school seniors (mean age: 16 years old) volunteered to participate in this study and were randomly assigned into either a dance movement group (n = 20) or a control group (n = 20). All subscale scores of psychological distress and global scores decreased significantly after the 12 weeks in the DMT group. Plasma serotonin concentration increased and dopamine concentration decreased in the DMT group. These results suggest that DMT may stabilize the sympathetic nervous system. In conclusion, DMT may be effective in beneficially modulating concentrations of serotonin and dopamine, and in improving psychological distress in adolescents with mild depression.

Many people with depression or anxiety turn to nonpharmacologic and nonconventional interventions, including exercise, yoga, meditation, tai chi, or qi gong. Meta-analyses and systematic reviews have shown that these interventions can improve symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders. As an adjunctive treatment, exercise seems most helpful for treatment-resistant depression, unipolar depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Yoga as monotherapy or adjunctive therapy shows positive effects, particularly for depression. As an adjunctive therapy, it facilitates treatment of anxiety disorders, particularly panic disorder. Tai chi and qi gong may be helpful as adjunctive therapies for depression, but effects are inconsistent. As monotherapy or an adjunctive therapy, mindfulness-based meditation has positive effects on depression, and its effects can last for six months or more. Although positive findings are less common in people with anxiety disorders, the evidence supports adjunctive use. There are no apparent negative effects of mindfulness-based interventions, and their general health benefits justify their use as adjunctive therapy for patients with depression and anxiety disorders.

PURPOSE:To prospectively evaluate the association of the Mediterranean-DASH diet intervention for neurodegenerative delay (MIND) diet and the Mediterranean diet (and their components), and depression risk.

METHODS:We followed-up (median 10.4 years) 15,980 adults initially free of depression at baseline or in the first 2 years of follow-up. Food consumption was measured at baseline through a validated food-frequency questionnaire, and was used to compute adherence to the MIND and the Mediterranean diets. Relationships between these two diets and incident depression were assessed through Cox regression models.

RESULTS:We identified 666 cases of incident depression. Comparing the highest versus the lowest quartiles of adherence, we found no association of the MIND diet and incident depression. This relation was statistically significant for the Mediterranean diet {hazard ratio (HR) 0.75, [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.61, 0.94]; p < 0.01}, although with departure from linearity. A reduced depression risk was associated with higher consumption of both fruits and nuts [HR 0.82 (95% CI 0.69, 0.96); p = 0.02], moderate nuts consumption [HR 0.77 (95% CI 0.64, 0.93); p = 0.01], and avoidance of fast/fried food [HR 0.63 (95% CI 0.41, 0.96); p = 0.03].

CONCLUSIONS:The Mediterranean diet was associated with reduced depression risk, but we found no evidence of such an association for the MIND diet.

This study aims to examine the effect of a 16-week Pilates exercise program on the ego resiliency and depression in elderly women. Before participating in Pilates exercise programs, researcher explained the purpose and the intention of the research to elderly women who were willing to participate in this research. A total of 148 elderly women agreed to participate in the program and they filled in ego resiliency and depression questionnaires. Then, the elderly participated in the 16-week Pilates exercise program and completed the same questionnaires afterwards. Collected data was analyzed by the SPSS ver. 20.0 program and results of paired t-test were as follows; there were statistically significant differences in all subvariables of the ego resiliency such as self-confidence (t=7.770, P<0.001), communication efficiency (t=2.690, P<0.01), optimistic trait (t=1.996, P<0.05), and anger management (t=4.525, P<0.001) after elderly women participated in the 16-week Pilates exercise program, there was a statistically significant difference in depression of elderly women who participated in the 16-week Pilates exercise program (t=-6.506, P<0.001) which was statistically lower than before their participation in the program. Consequently, participating in the Pilates exercise program can help improve the ego-resiliency and alleviate depression of the elderly women.

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of an aerobic training program as complementary therapy in patients suffering from moderate depression. 82 female patients weredivided into a group that received traditional pharmacotherapy (Fluoxetine 20 mg) and a group that received pharmacotherapy plus an aerobic training program. This program was carried out for eight consecutive weeks, three days per week, and included gymnastics, dancing, and walking. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Beck Depression Inventory and the ICD-10 Guide for Depression Diagnosis, both administered before and after treatments. The results confirm the effectiveness of the aerobic training program as a complementary therapy to diminish depressive symptoms in patients suffering from moderate depression.

The current study examined the effects of aromatherapy massage on alleviating agitation and depressive mood in individuals with dementia. A randomized controlled trial and repeated measures design was conducted. A total of 59 participants were randomly assigned to intervention or control groups. The intervention group received aromatherapy massage once per week for 8 weeks. Results indicated no significant changes over time in overall agitation for either group, but agitation decreased from Week 1 to Week 5 for the intervention group. In addition, the overall depressive symptoms decreased significantly over time for the intervention group compared to the control group (p<0.001). However, changes in agitation within 24 hours following aromatherapy massage showed some significant changes in Weeks 5 and 9. Aromatherapy massage can be an effective and safe intervention to alleviate specific agitated behaviors and depressive mood in individuals with dementia. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 42(9), 38-46.].

PURPOSE:This study aimed to investigate the effect of aromatherapy massage on anxiety, depression, and physiologic parameters in older patients with acute coronary syndrome.

METHODS:This randomized controlled trial was conducted on 90 older women with acute coronary syndrome. The participants were randomly assigned into the intervention and control groups (n = 45). The intervention group received reflexology with lavender essential oil, but the control group only received routine care. Physiologic parameters, the levels of anxiety and depression in the hospital were evaluated using a checklist and the Hospital's Anxiety and Depression Scale, respectively, before and immediately after the intervention.

RESULTS:Significant differences in the levels of anxiety and depression were reported between the groups after the intervention. The analysis of physiological parameters revealed a statistically significant reduction (P<.05) in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, and heart rate. However, no significant difference was observed in the respiratory rate.

CONCLUSIONS:Aromatherapy massage can be considered by clinical nurses an efficient therapy for alleviating psychological and physiological responses among older women suffering from acute coronary syndrome.

BACKGROUND:Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected individuals frequently suffer from anxiety and depression. Depression has been associated with rapid decline in CD4 counts and worsened treatment outcomes in HIV-infected patients. Yoga has been used to reduce psychopathology and improve immunity.

AIM:To study the effect of 1-month integrated yoga (IY) intervention on anxiety, depression, and CD4 counts in patients suffering from HIV-1 infection.

METHODS:Forty four HIV-1 infected individuals from two HIV rehabilitation centers of Manipur State of India were randomized into two groups: Yoga (n = 22; 12 males) and control (n = 22; 14 males). Yoga group received IY intervention, which included physical postures (asanas), breathing practices (pranayama), relaxation techniques, and meditation. IY sessions were given 60 min/day, 6 days a week for 1 month. Control group followed daily routine during this period. All patients were on anti-retroviral therapy (ART) and dosages were kept stable during the study. There was no significant difference in age, gender, education, CD4 counts, and ART status between the two groups. Hospital anxiety and depression scale was used to assess anxiety and depression, CD4 counts were measured by flow cytometry before and after intervention. Analysis of variance - repeated measures was applied to analyze the data using SPSS version 10.

RESULTS:Within group comparison showed a significant reduction in depression scores (F [1, 21] =4.19, P<0.05) and non-significant reduction in anxiety scores along with non significant increment in CD4 counts in the yoga group. In the control group, there was a non-significant increase in anxiety and depression scores and reduction in CD4 counts. Between-group comparison revealed a significant reduction in depression scores (F [1, 21] =5.64, P<0.05) and significant increase in CD4 counts (F [1, 21] =5.35, P<0.05) in the yoga group as compared to the control.

CONCLUSION:One month practice of IY may reduce depression and improve immunity in HIV-1 infected adults.

OBJECTIVE:To explore the clinical efficacy and safety of Qigong in reducing the self-rating depression scale (SDS) and self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) scores of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

METHODS:We searched CNKI, Wan fang, Chongqing VIP, China Biology Medicine disc, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE for studies published as of Dec 31, 2018. All randomized controlled trials of Qigong in COPD patients, which met the inclusion criteria were included. The Cochrane bias risk assessment tool was used for literature evaluation. RevMan 5.3 software was used for meta-analysis.

RESULTS:Six studies (combined n = 415 patients) met the inclusion criteria. Compared with conventional therapy alone, Qigong in combination with conventional therapy significantly improved the following outcome measures: SDS score [mean difference (MD) -3.99, 95% CI (-6.17, -1.82), P < .001, I = 69%]; SAS score[MD -4.57, 95% CI (-5.67, -3.48), P < .001, I = 15%]; forced expiratory volume in one second/prediction (FEV1% pred) [MD 3.77, 95% CI (0.97,6.58), P < .01, I = 0]; forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) [MD 0.21, 95% CI (0.13, 0.30), P < .001, I = 0%]; forced vital capacity (FVC) [MD 0.28, 95% CI (0.16, 0.40), P < .001, I = 0]; 6-minute walk test (6MWT) distance [MD 39.31, 95% CI (18.27, 60.34), P < .001, I = 32%]; and St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) total score [MD -11.42, 95% CI (-21.80, -1.03), P < .05, I = 72%].

CONCLUSION:Qigong can improve the SDS and SAS scores of COPD patients, and has auxiliary effects on improving lung function, 6MWT distance, and SGRQ score.

OBJECTIVES:To investigate whether Sudarshan Kriya and related practices (SK&P) can lead to increased global assessment of functioning (GAF) and increased feeling of wellness in male prisoners with a non psychotic psychiatric disorder.

METHODOLOGY:This is a six month parallel randomized controlled study with sample size of 230 male prisoners. Participants meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria were assigned to a study or control group by simple random allocation in which random allocation sequence was generated using a random number table. Each individual study participant was involved in a daily program of SK&P for six weeks. Each individual control participant was instructed to sit in an armchair with his eyes closed and gentle attention to their breath for duration of six weeks. To be included in this study, a participant must be a male prisoner diagnosed to be suffering from a psychiatric disorder (except psychosis and bipolar affective disorder [BPAD]) by ICD-10 (DCR) criteria with age between 18 and 65 years.

RESULTS:Majority of subjects were unemployed married individuals, educated until undermatric level and not having occupational skills of more than an unskilled labor level. Practicing SK&P for six weeks led to improvement in mean±SD score of study participants in GAF, anxiety (ANX), depressed mood (DEP), positive well being (PWB), general health (GH), self control (SC), vitality (VT) and total positive general well being (PGWB). Change in mean±SD score of study participants when compared with control participants was statistically significant in terms of GAF, ANX, DEP, PWB, GH and PGWB. Increase in SC and VT scores was statistically insignificant when compared with control participants.

CONCLUSION:Practicing SK&P helps in improving GAF, PWB, GH and total PGWB of an individual. SK&P also causes significant reduction in anxiety and depression levels. Effect of SK&P on SC and VT is insignificant.

OBJECTIVES:To investigate whether Sudarshan Kriya and related practices (SK&P) can lead to increased global assessment of functioning (GAF) and increased feeling of wellness in male prisoners with a non psychotic psychiatric disorder.

METHODOLOGY:This is a six month parallel randomized controlled study with sample size of 230 male prisoners. Participants meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria were assigned to a study or control group by simple random allocation in which random allocation sequence was generated using a random number table. Each individual study participant was involved in a daily program of SK&P for six weeks. Each individual control participant was instructed to sit in an armchair with his eyes closed and gentle attention to their breath for duration of six weeks. To be included in this study, a participant must be a male prisoner diagnosed to be suffering from a psychiatric disorder (except psychosis and bipolar affective disorder [BPAD]) by ICD-10 (DCR) criteria with age between 18 and 65 years.

RESULTS:Majority of subjects were unemployed married individuals, educated until undermatric level and not having occupational skills of more than an unskilled labor level. Practicing SK&P for six weeks led to improvement in mean±SD score of study participants in GAF, anxiety (ANX), depressed mood (DEP), positive well being (PWB), general health (GH), self control (SC), vitality (VT) and total positive general well being (PGWB). Change in mean±SD score of study participants when compared with control participants was statistically significant in terms of GAF, ANX, DEP, PWB, GH and PGWB. Increase in SC and VT scores was statistically insignificant when compared with control participants.

CONCLUSION:Practicing SK&P helps in improving GAF, PWB, GH and total PGWB of an individual. SK&P also causes significant reduction in anxiety and depression levels. Effect of SK&P on SC and VT is insignificant.

BACKGROUND: Possible physiological causes for the effect of sunlight on mood are through the suprachiasmatic nuclei and evidenced by serotonin and melatonin regulation and its associations with depression. Cognitive function involved in these same pathways may potentially be affected by sunlight exposure. We evaluated whether the amount of sunlight exposure (i.e. insolation) affects cognitive function and examined the effect of season on this relationship. METHODS: We obtained insolation data for residential regions of 16,800 participants from a national cohort study of blacks and whites, aged 45+. Cognitive impairment was assessed using a validated six-item screener questionnaire and depression status was assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Logistic regression was used to find whether same-day or two-week average sunlight exposure was related to cognitive function and whether this relationship differed by depression status. RESULTS: Among depressed participants, a dose-response relationship was found between sunlight exposure and cognitive function, with lower levels of sunlight associated with impaired cognitive status (odds ratio = 2.58; 95% CI 1.43-6.69). While both season and sunlight were correlated with cognitive function, a significant relation remained between each of them and cognitive impairment after controlling for their joint effects. CONCLUSION: The study found an association between decreased exposure to sunlight and increased probability of cognitive impairment using a novel data source. We are the first to examine the effects of two-week exposure to sunlight on cognition, as well as the first to look at sunlight's effects on cognition in a large cohort study.

Context Background:Type 2 diabetes has been strongly associated with psychosocial factors such as stress, anxiety, depression, and quality of life (QOL). There is not much evidence whether yoga can improve these factors and motivate individuals to engage in active lifestyle.

Aims:This study aims to evaluate the effect of yoga and exercise over glycemic control, anxiety, depression, exercise self-efficacy (ESE), and QOL after 3-month program.

Methods:Two hundred and twenty-seven individuals were randomly allocated to yoga group (YG) and exercise group. YG practiced yoga for 2 weeks under supervision and then carried out practice at home for 3 months. The exercise group practiced 30 min of brisk walking for 5 days a week.

Results:On comparison among the groups, in YG, there was a mean change of 0.47 in glycated hemoglobin which was greater than mean reduction of 0.28 in the exercise group with<0.05. State anxiety reduced by 7.8 and trait anxiety reduced by 4.4 in YG (<0.05) in 3 months as compared to nonsignificant reductions of 3 and 1 in mean of state and trait anxiety scores in the exercise group (>0.05). There was a statistically significant reduction in depression score in both the groups, 8.6 in yoga and 4.0 in exercise, which was greater in YG. ESE improved by 19.2 in YG (<0.05), whereas it improved only 2.2 in the exercise group (>0.05). QOL improved by 23.7 in YG and 3.0 in the exercise group which was nonsignificant in the exercise group as compared to YG.

Conclusions:Yoga is superior to exercise alone as a lifestyle modification program in improving glycemic control, anxiety, depression, and QOL as well as ESE.

Objective:To determine the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for perimenopausal depression.

Methods:We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, EMBASE, CNKI, VIP Citation Databases, Wan Fang, and online trial registries such as ClinicalTrials.gov for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for perimenopausal depression. Literature screening, data extraction, and determination of the risk of bias were performed by two researchers independently. The extracted data were pooled and meta-analyzed using RevMan5.3 software.

Results:In total, 16 RCTs covering 1311 patients were enrolled. Overall, the results showed that acupuncture was more effective in the treatment of perimenopausal depression than antidepressants (OR = 2.68, 95% CI (1.84, 3.90),<0.00001). Furthermore, HAMD scores in the manual acupuncture group and electroacupuncture group were lower than those of antidepressants (manual acupuncture vs. antidepressants (MD = -2.35, 95% CI (-2.93, -1.77),<0.00001) and electroacupuncture vs. antidepressants (MD = -1.2, 95% CI (-1.92, -0.48),=0.001)). Data analysis revealed that the treatment effect of acupuncture was more stable than that of antidepressants (MD = -2.4, 95% CI (-3.37, -1.43),<0.00001). Moreover, acupuncture was safer than antidepressants based on the incidence of adverse events (OR = 0.23, 95% CI (0.1, 0.52),=0.0004). But acupuncture has no effect on estrogen levels (≥ 0.05).

Conclusions:Acupuncture for perimenopausal depression is safe and effective. Moreover, it has more stable long-term effects than antidepressants and hormone replacement therapy (HRT). We recommend acupuncture as a clinical treatment of perimenopausal depression.

OBJECTIVES:Geriatric depression is a major public health problem in China. The study compared the intervention and follow-up effects of aromatherapy massage and inhalation on symptoms of depression in community-dwelling older adults after an 8-week intervention.

DESIGN:A prospective, randomized controlled trial was conducted on community-dwelling adults≥60 years old, with symptoms of depression. Participants were randomly assigned, by Latin Square, to aromatherapy massage, inhalation, or control groups (each n = 20).

INTERVENTIONS:The aromatherapy massage group received 30 min of aromatherapy massage with 5 mL oil, twice weekly for 8 weeks. The oil contained 50 μL (one drop) of compound essential oils (lavender [Lavandula angustifolia], sweet orange [Citrus sinensis], and bergamot (Citrus bergamia in a 2:1:1 ratio)], diluted in sweet almond oil to a concentration of 1%. The aromatherapy inhalation group received 30 min of nasal inhalation of 50 μL of the compound essential oils blended in 10 mL of purified water, twice weekly for 8 weeks. The control group received no intervention.

OUTCOME MEASURES:The Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form (GDS-SF) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) were used for assessment at pretest, posttest, and 6- and 10-week follow-ups in all groups. 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) concentration was assessed pretest and posttest.

RESULTS:Postintervention, the aromatherapy massage and inhalation groups demonstrated significantly lower GDS-SF and PHQ-9 scores than control participants. Compared with the pretest, the GDS-SF and PHQ-9 scores for depressive symptoms in both experimental groups remained lower at posttest (8 weeks), 6-week (14 weeks), and 10-week (18 weeks) follow-ups. However, the GDS-SF and PHQ-9 scores did not differ among the four time points in the control group. The posttest 5-HT concentrations in the aromatherapy massage and inhalation groups were increased over pretest values.

CONCLUSIONS:Both aromatherapy massage and aromatherapy inhalation may have important implications for intervening depression in older adults.

PURPOSE:The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of aroma hand massage on pain, state anxiety and depression in hospice patients with terminal cancer.

METHODS:This study was a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The subjects were 58 hospice patients with terminal cancer who were hospitalized. Twenty eight hospice patients with terminal cancer were assigned to the experimental group (aroma hand massage), and 30 hospice patients with terminal cancer were assigned to the control group (general oil hand massage). As for the experimental treatment, the experimental group went through aroma hand massage on each hand for 5 min for 7 days with blended oil-a mixture of Bergamot, Lavender, and Frankincense in the ratio of 1:1:1, which was diluted 1.5% with sweet almond carrier oil 50 ml. The control group went through general oil hand massage by only sweet almond carrier oil-on each hand for 5 min for 7 days.

RESULTS:The aroma hand massage experimental group showed more significant differences in the changes of pain score (t=-3.52, p=.001) and depression (t=-8.99, p=.000) than the control group.

CONCLUSION:Aroma hand massage had a positive effect on pain and depression in hospice patients with terminal cancer.

The purpose of this study was to examine effects of art and music therapy on depression and cognitive function of the elderly. This was one group pre-test, post-test design. Data were collected from January to March, 2013, from 94 elderly. The results were collected as followers: 1. Art therapy was revealed a statistical significant difference between before and after treatment on the depression of participants. 2. Music therapy was revealed a statistical significant at previous and after treatment on the depression of participants. 3. Treatment according to the severity of depression than the music therapy and art therapy were examined statistically significantly lower. This study will be provided basic information in order to develop program for success healthy life of elderly.