Traditional Korean Medicine-Based Forest Therapy Programs Providing Electrophysiological Benefits for Elderly Individuals

Yi, Jiyune; Ku, Boncho; Kim, Seul Gee; Khil, Taegyu; Lim, Youngsuwn; Shin, Minja; Jeon, Sookja; Kim, Jin-Gun; Kang, Byunghoon; Shin, Jong-Yeon; Kim, Kahye; Jeong, Ah Young; Park, Jeong Hwan; Choi, Jung-Mi; Cha, Wonseok; Shin, Chang-Seob; Shin, Won-sop; Kim, Jaeuk U.

doi:10.3390/ijerph16224325

Cited by 27 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…In 2019, HRV was suggested as a useful marker for disease prevention in the elderly (Tan et al, 2019). The authors of this study have also shown that the HRV indices, which were measured with the same instruments and protocols as those in this study, significantly increased after therapy in forest, resulting in a positive effect (Yi et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 57%

Declining Trends of Heart Rate Variability According to Aging in Healthy Asian Adults

Choi

Cha

Park

2020

Front. Aging Neurosci.

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Heart rate variability (HRV) indices correlate with aging and are related to the autonomic nervous system. However, the trend of HRV with age has not been explored for the Asian population. Therefore, we proposed a linear regression model of HRV indices that decreased with aging in healthy Asian adults. HRV parameters [High frequency (HF), Low frequency (LF), Very low frequency (VLF), Total power (TP), HRV triangular index (HRV-index), Standard deviation of the normal-to-normal interval (SDNN), and Proportion of normal-to-normal intervals greater than 50 ms (pNN50)] were measured in a total of 300 healthy participants (150 men and 150 women) aged 19–69 years stratified into five age groups: 19–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, and 60–69 years comprising 60 people each in Seoul, South Korea. A simple regression analysis was performed to reveal the linear declining trend of HRV indices with age. Independent t-tests were conducted to investigate the gender differences in HRV values depending on each age group. The values of all HRV indices showed a decreasing trend with age in healthy Korean adults, as observed in the Western population (P < 0.001 for all indices); HF (Y = −0.039x + 6.833, R2 = 0.287), LF (Y = −0.047x + 7.197, R2 = 0.414), VLF (Y = −0.025x + 6.861, R2 = 0.177), TP (Y = −0.034x + 8.082, R2 = 0.352), HRV-index (Y = −0.125x + 15.628, R2 = 0.298), SDNN (Y = −0.502x + 53.907, R2 = 0.343), and pNN50 (Y = −0.650x + 53.852, R2 = 0.345) all decreased with age. There was no significant gender difference in any HRV parameter. A linear regression model of various HRV indices has been presented considering the age of healthy Asians, which may be useful to prevent diseases related to the autonomic nervous system by estimating or tracking autonomic functional degeneration in the Asian population.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 57%

Declining Trends of Heart Rate Variability According to Aging in Healthy Asian Adults

Choi

Cha

Park

2020

Front. Aging Neurosci.

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“…Recently, thanks to the development of IT technology, a convenient and high quality low-channel wireless EEG measurement system has been widely used [34,35]. The authors of this study have shown that two-channels EEG systems, measured at prefrontal region, show reliable data quality and significant clinical results [36][37][38]. With two-channels EEG system, the authors have also shown that MDF and ATR are correlated negatively with the MMSE scores of elderly people (total = 496, males = 163, females = 331) [36] Correlations between EEG changes and neuroimaging findings have been reported in many studies as well.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Negative effect of methyl bromide fumigation work on the central nervous system

et al. 2020

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Methyl bromide (MB) is a fumigant that has been widely used for killing pests on plants in trade, soils, and structures worldwide due to its excellent permeability and insecticidal effect; however, MB should be replaced because it is an ozone-depleting substance. It is well-known that MB is highly toxic and hazardous to workers, but the effects of exposure in asymptomatic workers have not been explored. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of MB fumigation on the health of fumigators at a sensitive level. The electroencephalogram (EEG) and urinary bromide ion levels of 44 fumigators (the study group) and 20 inspectors (the control) were measured before and after fumigation work from February to August 2019 in Busan, Korea. The mean post-work concentration of bromide ion (18.311 μg/mg CRE) in the fumigators was significantly increased from the pre-work level (7.390 μg/mg CRE) (P<0.001). The fumigator post-work median frequencies (MDF) and alpha-to-theta ratios (ATR) of EEG index were significantly decreased compared to the pre-work values (P<0.05 for all indices). In contrast, there were no significant differences in inspector EEG indices and urinary bromide ion. The urinary bromide ion levels in all the subjects were negatively correlated with MDF (P = 0.032). In conclusion, fumigators' EEG indices and urinary bromide ion suggested that occupational exposure to MB negatively affected the health of workers, although the workers were asymptomatic.

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“…Some forest therapies conducted for the elderly population are based on or run in combination with walking, physical exercise, cognitive intervention, and social activity [ 24 , 25 , 26 ]. The reported benefits include effects on blood pressure, arterial stiffness, pulmonary function, salivary cortisol level, quality of life, depression and anxiety, mood state, and blood biomarkers related to cardiovascular disease [ 6 , 25 , 27 , 28 , 29 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psycho-Electrophysiological Benefits of Forest Therapies Focused on Qigong and Walking with Elderly Individuals

Kim

Khil

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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We developed two distinct forest therapy programs (FTPs) and compared their effects on dementia prevention and related health problems for older adults. One was focused on Qigong practice in the forest (QP) and the other involved active walking in the forest (WP). Both FTPs consisted of twelve 2-h sessions over six weeks and were conducted in an urban forest. We obtained data from 25, 18, and 26 participants aged 65 years or above for the QP, WP, and control groups, respectively. Neuropsychological scores via cognition (MoCA), geriatric depression (GDS) and quality of life (EQ-5D), and electrophysiological variables (electroencephalography, bioimpedance, and heart rate variability) were measured. We analyzed the intervention effects with a generalized linear model. Compared to the control group, the WP group showed benefits in terms of neurocognition (increases in the MoCA score, and alpha and beta band power values in the electroencephalogram), sympathetic nervous activity, and bioimpedance in the lower body. On the other hand, the QP group showed alleviated depression and an increased bioimpedance phase angle in the upper body. In conclusion, both active walking and Qigong in the forest were shown to have distinctive neuropsychological and electrophysiological benefits, and both had beneficial effects in terms of preventing dementia and relieving related health problems for elderly individuals.

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Traditional Korean Medicine-Based Forest Therapy Programs Providing Electrophysiological Benefits for Elderly Individuals

Cited by 27 publications

References 71 publications

Declining Trends of Heart Rate Variability According to Aging in Healthy Asian Adults

Declining Trends of Heart Rate Variability According to Aging in Healthy Asian Adults

Negative effect of methyl bromide fumigation work on the central nervous system

Psycho-Electrophysiological Benefits of Forest Therapies Focused on Qigong and Walking with Elderly Individuals

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