The effects of repeated thermal therapy on quality of life in patients with type II diabetes mellitus
Beever R
Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) · 34 citations
Review labels
Neutral facts our review recorded about how this study was done. They describe method, never whether we like the result.
How it was studied
- Design
- Controlled clinical trial (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
Publication
- Published
- 2010-06-01 · J Altern Complement Med · vol. 16 · issue 6 · pp. 677–681
- Publisher
- Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
- Cited
- 51 citations · more than 79% of similar papers · 1.3× the field average
- References
- 23 works
- Access
- Paywalled
- Research areas
- Thermoregulation and physiological responses · Infrared Thermography in Medicine · Skin Protection and Aging
- Keywords
- Medicine, Quality of life (healthcare), Diabetes mellitus, Psychological intervention, Depression (economics), Type 2 diabetes, Physical therapy, Visual analogue scale, SF-36, Health related quality of life, Gerontology, Internal medicine, Psychiatry, Disease
- MeSH
- humans, diabetes mellitus, type 2, fatigue, pain measurement, treatment outcome, complementary therapies, steam bath, health surveys, longitudinal studies, stress, psychological, infrared rays, health status, quality of life, aged, middle aged, female, male, hot temperature, surveys and questionnaires
1 author
From CA
- Richard Beever · correspondingUniversity of British Columbia
Abstract
Objectives
Decreased quality of life in diabetes is associated with poor health outcomes. Far-infrared sauna treatments improve the quality of life for those with chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, and congestive heart failure. The objective of this study is to determine whether far-infrared saunas have a beneficial effect on quality of life in those with type II diabetes.
Design
This was a sequential, longitudinal, interrupted time series design study.
Setting/location
The setting was Fraser Lake BC, a rural village in central British Columbia, Canada.
Subjects
All patients of the Fraser Lake Community Health Center with type II diabetes were invited to participate in this study.
Interventions
The study consisted of 20-minute, 3 times weekly infrared sauna sessions, over a period of 3 months.
Outcome measures
To assess quality of life, subjects completed the 36-item Short-form Health Survey Version 2 (SF-36v2) questionnaire as well as "Zero-to-Ten" Visual Analogue Scales. Baseline study parameters were measured within 1 week prior to commencing sauna sessions. Postintervention measurements were collected between 1 and 3 days after the last sauna session.
Results
Physical health, general health, and social functioning indices of the SF-36v2 improved. Visual Analogue Scales for stress and fatigue improved.
Conclusions
Far-infrared sauna use maybe associated with improved quality of life in people with type II diabetes mellitus. Uptake of infrared saunas use is greater than the uptake of other lifestyle interventions.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher.
Community trust
Loading…
How much do you trust this study's findings?
Comments
Sign in to rate, comment on or flag this study.Sign inSomething wrong here?
Flag this study if its information, labels or funding look wrong. An editor reviews every flag.
Sign in to rate, comment on or flag this study.Sign inEducational information about published research. Not medical advice, and not a recommendation to start or stop anything.