Elderly, relaxation technique, immune competence, psychological well-being Mental and Behavioural Disorders
Conditions
Interventions
1. Control group: standard care was given by the physician. This group was randomized to wait-list condition.
2. Intervention group: Psychological treatment was given by an expert psychologist. It con
Sponsors
University of Alicante (Spain)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: 1. Participants should not to be taking drugs with significant effects on endocrine or immune function (e.g., corticosteroids or antimetabolites) 2. Participants should not to have health problems directly related to immune function (i.e., endocrine diseases, cancer, arthritis, asthma, or infectious diseases) 3. Participants should not have endured an extremely negative life event within the year prior to study participation
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: Participants with indications of cognitive impairment
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Psychological, clinical and immunological measures were collected over the pre-treatment, post-treatment and follow up after the intervention. The following variables were collected: 1. Psychological variables: life satisfaction degree evaluated through the Satisfaction with Life Scale; positive and negative affect assessed with Bradburn?s Affect Balance Scale; quality of life of the participants by means of Nottingham Health Profile; and a Symptom List related with the Benson?s relaxation response. 2. Clinical variables: functional assessment by means of Katz Index of ADL, physical parameters (BMI, blood pressure and heart rate), hematological parameters (red and white blood cells counts, and blood differential, hemoglobin, hematocryte, mean corpuscular volume, platelets, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate) and blood biochemistry measures (Glucose, creatinine, urea, uric acid, total cholesterol, HDL and LDL cholesterol, triglycerids, AST, ALT, GGT, total proteins, and serum albumin). 3. Immunological variables: we recorded the following molecules: CD4, CD8, CD19, CD56, CD71, CD97, CD134, and CD173. At the immune level, our results show significant group differences in various lymphocyte sub populations at the end of treatment. | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| At the psychological level, the relaxation technique produced positive effects in that there was a decline in negative affect, degree of psychological distress, and perception of symptomatology with respect to baseline levels at the beginning of the study. Furthermore, the treatment group showed gains in quality of life at the three-month follow-up. | — |
Countries
Spain
Outcome results
None listed