A relaxation technique enhances psychological well-being and immune parameters in elderly people from a nursing home: a randomized controlled study

Abstract

Background: The aging process involves a decline in immune functioning that renders elderly people more vulnerable to disease. In residential programs for the aged, it is vital to diminish their risk of disease, promote their independence, and augment their psychological well-being and quality of life.

Methods: We performed a randomized controlled study, evaluating the ability of a relaxation technique based on Benson's relaxation response to enhance psychological well-being and modulate the immune parameters of elderly people living in a geriatric residence when compared to a waitlist control group. The study included a 2-week intervention period and a 3-month follow-up period. The main outcome variables were psychological well-being and quality of life, biomedical variables, immune changes from the pre-treatment to post-treatment and follow-up periods.

Results: Our findings reveal significant differences between the experimental and control groups in CD19, CD71, CD97, CD134, and CD137 lymphocyte subpopulations at the end of treatment. Furthermore, there was a decrease in negative affect, psychological discomfort, and symptom perception in the treatment group, which increased participants' quality of life scores at the three-month follow-up.

Conclusions: This study represents a first approach to the application of a passive relaxation technique in residential programs for the elderly. The method appears to be effective in enhancing psychological well-being and modulating immune activity in a group of elderly people. This relaxation technique could be considered an option for achieving health benefits with a low cost for residential programs, but further studies using this technique in larger samples of older people are needed to confirm the trends observed in the present study.

Trial registration: International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number Register ISRCTN85410212.

Figure 1

CONSORT flowchart of participants retained at each phase of the trial.

Figure 2

Weighted scores for the treatment group: Nottingham Health Profile at the three assessment times. A: pre-treatment assessment; B: post-treatment assessment; C: three-month follow-up assessment. E: Energy; P: Pain; ER: Emotional Reactions; S: Sleep; SI: Social Isolation; PM: Physical Mobility.