Effects of eight weeks of simple mindfulness stress reduction training on anxiety, depression, and sleep quality in elderly patients with functional dyspepsia

Abstract

Background: Functional dyspepsia (FD) tends to cause anxiety and depression in patients and affect their sleep quality. Mental and psychological factors play an important role in the development of FD. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the understanding of the psychological status of FD patients to better implement targeted intervention measures to reduce negative emotions and improve sleep quality. Aim: To observe the effects of 8 wk of simple mindfulness stress reduction training on anxiety, depression, and sleep quality in elderly patients with FD. Methods: Ninety elderly FD patients admitted to The Second Hospital of Jinhua, Zhejiang Province from March 2017 to June 2019 were selected as study subjects, and they were randomly divided into either a control group or an observation group, each with 45 cases. Both groups received routine care, and the observation group was additionally given 8 wk of simple mindfulness stress reduction training intervention. Changes in anxiety and depression scores, Pittsburgh sleep quality index score, sleep latency, and sleep duration were recorded before and after intervention. Results: Self-rating anxiety scale and self-rating depression scale scores in the two groups were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Compared with those before intervention, sleep quality was significantly improved (P < 0.05), sleep latency was significantly shortened (P < 0.05), and sleep duration was significantly prolonged (P < 0.05) in both groups after intervention; the observation group was significantly better than the control group in these indexes (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Eight weeks of simple mindfulness stress reduction training can effectively relieve anxiety, depression, and other negative emotions and improve sleep quality in elderly patients with FD.