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Effect of a 12‐day balneotherapy programme on pain, mood, sleep, and depression in healthy elderly people
Author(s) -
LatorreRomán Pedro Ángel,
RenteroBlanco Manuel,
LaredoAguilera Jose Alberto,
GarcíaPinillos Felipe
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
psychogeriatrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.647
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1479-8301
pISSN - 1346-3500
DOI - 10.1111/psyg.12068
Subject(s) - balneotherapy , hydrotherapy , mood , depression (economics) , medicine , physical therapy , geriatric depression scale , psychology , psychiatry , anxiety , alternative medicine , depressive symptoms , pathology , economics , macroeconomics
Background The main purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of a 12‐day balneotherapy programme on pain, mood state, sleep, and depression in older adults. Methods In this study, 52 elderly adults from different areas of S pain participated in a social hydrotherapy programme created by the government's Institute for Elderly and Social Services, known as IMSERSO ; participants included 23 men (age, 69.74 ± 5.19 years) and 29 women (age, 70.31 ± 6.76 years). Pain was analyzed using the visual analogue scale. Mood was assessed using the Profile of Mood Status. Sleep was assessed using the Oviedo Sleep Questionnaire. Depression was assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale. The balneotherapy programme was undertaken at B alneario S an A ndrés ( J aén, S pain). The water at B alneario S an A ndrés, according to the Handbook of S panish Mineral Water, is a hypothermic (≥20° C ) hard water of medium mineralization, with bicarbonate, sulfate, sodium, and magnesium as the dominant ions. Results Balneotherapy produced significant improvements ( P < 0.05) for all variables (pain, mood state, sleep, and depression) in the total sample. A differential effect was found between the sexes regarding pain improvement, with men, but not women, having significantly improvement ( P < 0.01) after treatment. With regard to improving mood, sex differences were also shown, with women, but not men, significantly improved ( P < 0.05) in both depression and fatigue. Conclusions In conclusion, a 12‐day balneotherapy programme has a positive effect on pain, mood, sleep quality, and depression in healthy older people.