The effectiveness of emotional freedom techniques (EFT) on depression of postmenopausal women: a randomized controlled trial
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Asieh Mehdipour
,
Somayeh Ansari
Abstract
Objectives
Postmenopausal women are at greater risk of depression. Depression may negatively affect the quality of life of women. An emotional freedom technique (EFT) is an evidence-based therapy combining cognitive and exposure components with acupressure. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of EFT on depression in postmenopausal women.
Methods
This was a randomized controlled trial in which 88 women with mild to moderate depression recruited from a menopausal clinic in Ahvaz, Iran, and randomly assigned into two groups of EFT (n=44) and control for sham therapy (n=44). Women in the EFT group received two sessions of training and asked to continue EFT for 8 weeks, one time per day. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI2) completed by women before and after the intervention. The control group received training on sham acupressure points similar to the intervention group. Data collected using a demographic and BDI2. Women requested to complete the BDI2 before and after the intervention. The independent t-test, chi-square, and ANCOVA were used to analyze data.
Results
The mean depression score in the intervention group reduced from 20.93 ± 4.6 to 10.96 ± 4.38 in comparison to the control group that reduced from 19.18 ± 2.79 to 17.01 ± 6.05 after intervention (p=0.001). After the 8 week intervention, the frequency of moderate depression decreased from 56.8 to 9.35% in the intervention and from 50 to 29.5% in the control group. In total, 63.4 and 34.15% in the intervention and control groups were free of depression respectively after the intervention (p<0.001).
Conclusions
The results of this study showed that using EFT for 8 weeks could significantly reduce the mean score of depression in postmenopausal women. Using this method in public health centers for postmenopausal women is recommended.
Funding source: Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences
Acknowledgments
This was a master thesis of AM. The sponsor did not have any role in study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, as well as writing and submitting of the manuscript. We hereby thank all women who participated in this study and the staff of the menopausal counseling center.
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Research funding: All expenses of this research work were provided by Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences.
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Author contributions: AM, PA, and SA were involving in the conception. AM collected data. AM, PA, MD, and SA were responsible for data analyzing and interpretation. The manuscript was written by PA. All authors check and approved the content of the manuscript.
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Competing interests: None.
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Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Reviews
- Evidence implementation among complementary medicine practitioners: a meta-summary
- Phytochemical: a treatment option for heavy metal induced neurotoxicity
- The effects of curcumin-containing supplementations on inflammatory markers and lipid profiles in patients with chronic kidney diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
- A systematic review on traditional medicinal Animal’s parts and products used for the treatment of respiratory tract disorders in Ethiopia
- Review on nutraceuticals: phase transition from preventive to protective care
- A study of effect of Centella asiatica on oxidative markers in the hippocampus of offsprings born to alcohol-fed pregnant rats and the correlation with their cognitive functions
- Anxiogenic and anxiolytic effects of memantine injected into the ventral hippocampus in male stressed mice
- Research Articles
- Comparison of antithyroid effects and hepatic complications of methimazole with catechin and its nanoencapsulation form in adult male rats
- Almond oil restores blood parameters, liver function, blood and liver antioxidants and DNA, and liver histology more efficiently than olive oil in favism
- Highly efficient microencapsulation of phytonutrients by fractioned cellulose using biopolymer complexation technology
- Ocimum basilicum alleviates blood glucose, lipid profile and iNOS in diabetes gestational rat model
- Blood pressure and blood sugar-lowering effects of purified gambir on diabetic hypertensive Wistar Kyoto rats
- Assessment of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of quercetin–rutin blend (SophorOx™) – an invitro cell based assay
- Subchronic toxicological evaluation of EnXtra™ (standardised extract of Alpinia galanga rhizome) in rats
- Ficus glumosa Del. reduces phenylhydrazine-induced hemolytic anaemia and hepatic damage in Wistar rats
- Screening of anti-cancerous potential of classical Raudra rasa and modified Raudra rasa modified with hiraka bhasma (nanodiamond) through FTIR & LC-MS analysis
- Aqueous extract of Pedalium murex D. Royen ex L. leafy stem protects against lead induced testicular toxicity in Wistar rats
- Intrahippocampal co-administration of nicotine and O-acetyl-L-carnitine prevents the H-89-induced spatial learning deficits in Morris water maze
- Developmental effects of early-life stress on dopamine D2 receptor and proteins involved in noncanonical D2 dopamine receptor signaling pathway in the prefrontal cortex of male rats
- Probiotic administration enhanced antitrypanosomal effects of diminazene aceturate in dogs experimentally infected with Trypanosoma brucei brucei
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