Background and Purpose—
Psychological
stressors, including poststroke depression
(33% chance), poststroke anxiety
(20% chance), and
posttraumatic stress disorder
(23% chance), are highly prevalent in stroke survivors.
These symptoms exact a significant toll on stroke survivors. Clinical
and research efforts in stroke recovery focus on motor disability,
speech and language deficits, and cognitive dysfunction while largely
neglecting psychological stressors. Evidence suggests mind-body
interventions in other chronic illness populations decrease symptoms of
depression, regulate immune responses, and promote resilience, yet
similar studies are lacking in stroke populations. This review aims to
synthesize evidence of the effects of mind-body interventions on
psychological stressors, quality of life, and biological outcomes for
stroke survivors.
Methods—
A systematic search of PubMed, PsycINFO, and CINAHL was conducted from database inception to November 2017.
Results—
Eight
studies were included in the review, with a total of 292 participants.
Mind-body interventions included yoga or tai chi. Of the 5 included
randomized controlled trials, most were pilot or feasibility studies
with small sample sizes. Psychological stressors, including poststroke
depression and anxiety, along with the quality of life, improved over
time, but statistically significant between-group differences were
largely absent. The 3 included studies with a qualitative design
reported themes reflecting improvement in psychological stressors and
quality of life. No included studies reported biological outcomes.
Conclusions—
Studies
of mind-body interventions suggest a possible benefit on psychological
stressors and quality of life; however, rigorously designed,
sufficiently powered randomized controlled trials with mixed-methods
design are warranted to delineate specific treatment effects of these
interventions. Studies with both biological and psychological stressors
as outcomes would provide evidence about interaction effects of these
factors on stroke-survivor responses to mind-body interventions.
No comments:
Post a Comment