Efficacy of the Whole-Body Cryotherapy as Add-on Therapy to Pharmacological Treatment of Depression-A Randomized Controlled Trial
Rymaszewska J, Lion KM, Pawlik-Sobecka L, Pawłowski T, Szcześniak D, Trypka E, Rymaszewska JE, Zabłocka A, Stanczykiewicz B
Frontiers in psychiatry · 18 citations
How it was studied
- Design
- Randomized controlled trial (classified by our AI screen)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
Based on full-text disclosure statement.
Publication
- Published
- 2020-06-09 · Front Psychiatry · vol. 11 · p. 522
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media
- Cited
- 38 citations · more than 89% of similar papers · 2.0× the field average
- References
- 67 works
- Access
- Open access (journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Exercise and Physiological Responses · Therapeutic Uses of Natural Elements · Infrared Thermography in Medicine
- Keywords
- Medicine, Physical therapy, Depression (economics), Mood, Randomized controlled trial, Quality of life (healthcare), Beck Depression Inventory, Fibromyalgia, Mindfulness, BASDAI, Cryotherapy, Internal medicine, Psychiatry, Rheumatoid arthritis, Anxiety, Clinical psychology, Surgery, Psoriatic arthritis
9 authors
From PL
- Joanna RymaszewskaWroclaw Medical University
- Katarzyna LionWroclaw Medical University
- Lilla Pawlik-SobeckaWroclaw Medical University
- Tomasz PawłowskiWroclaw Medical University
- Dorota Maria SzcześniakWroclaw Medical University
- Elżbieta TrypkaWroclaw Medical University
Abstract
Introduction
Accumulating evidence indicates the effectiveness of cryogenic temperature interventions in rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, and chronic low back pain. The application of whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) in psychiatric aspects of medicine was also noted. Nevertheless, the exact mechanisms explaining the beneficial effect of WBC on mood disorders remain unclear. The study aimed to assess the efficacy of repetitive short exposure to extremely low temperatures (WBC) on mood, quality of life as well as on biochemical measures among people diagnosed with depressive episode undergoing pharmacological treatment.
Materials and methods
Prospective randomized, double-blind sham-controlled protocol was used. The study enrolled 92 medically stable adults (aged 20-73 years) with a diagnosis of a depressive episode. The participants were randomly allocated and exposed to 10 whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) sessions (-110°C till -160°C [the experimental group (EG)] or to low, but not cryogenic temperatures -50°C [the control group (CG)]. Thirty participants in the EG and 26 in CG completed the whole study. The primary outcome measures were depressive symptoms evaluated with the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) as well as the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D 17). The quality of life, quality of sexual life, acceptance of the disease and self-reported mood, vitality, and sleep quality were assessed as secondary outcome measures. The study was registered at Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12619001600134).
Results
The results show evidence for a statistically significant difference in the clinical assessment of depressive symptoms according to HAM-D 17 scale (T4 by group interaction p=0.02), BDI-II (T2 time by group interaction p=0.01), cognitive-affective BDI dimension (T4 by group interaction p=0.00), and somatic BDI dimension (T4 by group interaction p=0.028). Significant improvement was also noticed in life quality (p 0.05).
Conclusions
Whole-body cryotherapy is a useful method to improve standard pharmacological treatment. The WBC intervention reduces mental health deterioration, especially in mood disorders, such as depression, and can be beneficial for well-being and quality of life.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
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