Comprehensive Health Education Combining Hot Spa Bathing and Lifestyle Education in Middle-aged and Elderly Women: One-year Follow-up on Randomized Controlled Trial of Three- and Six-month Interventions

Abstract

BACKGROUND This study attempted to clarify the duration of effects of 3- and 6-month comprehensive health education programs based on hot spa bathing, lifestyle education and physical exercise for women at 1-year follow-up. METHODS We examined middle-aged and elderly women who were randomly divided into two groups and followed up them for one year. Spa programmers instructed subjects for one hour in lifestyle education and physical exercise and for one hour in a half bath (salt spring, temperature at 41.5°C) once a week. The program for the 3-month group (n=19) was repeated in the 6-month group (n=14). The evaluation items were body mass index, PWC75%HRmax (by a bicycle ergometer as aerobic capacity), blood profiles (total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, arteriosclerotic index, uric acid, and hemoglobin A1c), profile of mood states, self-rating depression scale, subjective happiness, pains in the knee and back, and active modification of lifestyle. RESULTS There were significant interactions between groups and response over time to aerobic capacity, hemoglobin A1c, back pain, vigor, fatigue and self-rating depression (respectively, p<0.05). Duration of effects was longer for the 6-month intervention than for the 3-month intervention. CONCLUSIONS Beneficial effects of 6-month intervention on hemoglobin A1c, aerobic capacity, pains in the back, vigor, fatigue and depression remained significant at the 1-year follow-up. Duration of effects was longer in the 6-month intervention than in the 3-month intervention.

Presenteeism among Chinese workers in Japan and its relationship with mental health and health-promoting lifestyles

“…Finally, those who received health education at the workplace had low depression scores. Health education has previously been found to reduce depression 33) . Our results also indicated that health education appears to have a positive influence on mental health.…”

The effect of balneotherapy on C-reactive protein, serum cholesterol, triglyceride, total antioxidant status and HSP-60 levels

“…Thus, balneotherapy might play some role in the prevention of atherosclerosis. Immersion in thermal water exerts a beneficial effect also in the case of chronic heart disease (Cider et al 2006;Schmid et al 2007), and it also influences favourably levels of HbA 1c (Kamioka et al 2006) and plasma lipids (Strauss-Blasche et al 2003), and has beneficial effects in the case of diabetes (Ohtsuka et al 1996). Radon baths enhance the production of alpha-ANP and insulin (Yamaoka et al 2004).…”

Effectiveness of Aquatic Exercise and Balneotherapy: A Summary of Systematic Reviews Based on Randomized Controlled Trials of Water Immersion Therapies

“… 7 , 8 In addition, recent reports have demonstrated that comprehensive health education, which includes lifestyle education and exercise in combination with spa bathing, has positive effects for middle-aged and elderly people. 9 , 10 …”