Physical and psychological effects of 6-week tactile massage on elderly patients with severe dementia.
Tactile massage is a soft massage that improves physical relaxation and psychological well-being. The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of a 6-week tactile massage on changes in physical and mental function, symptoms of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) among elderly patients with dementia. In addition, chromogranin A (CgA) levels as an index of stress examined the effects of tactile massage intervention. A tactile massage group consisting of elderly patients with dementia received tactile massage therapy a total of 30 times each for about 20 minutes between 16:00 and 17:00 hours. In the control group, the mean scores for ''intellectual'' and ''emotional function'' score decreased significantly after 6 weeks (P < .05); however, no change was observed in the tactile massage group. Both the ''aggressiveness'' score (P < .05) and CgA levels decreased significantly after 6 weeks in the tactile massage group. These results suggest that tactile massage reduces aggressiveness and stress level in patients with dementia.
Hamamatsu University, Shizuoka, Japan. m~suzuki@hama-med.ac.jp
Mizue
M
Suzuki
Asami
A
Tatsumi
Toshiko
T
Otsuka
Keiko
K
Kikuchi
Akiko
A
Mizuta
Kimiko
K
Makino
Akie
A
Kimoto
Kiyoe
K
Fujiwara
Toshihiko
T
Abe
Toshihiro
T
Nakagomi
Tatsuya
T
Hayashi
Takayuki
T
Saruhara
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000374:Aggression; D001519:Behavior; D053379:Chromogranin A / Q000378:metabolism; D003704:Dementia / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005851:Geriatric Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008405:Massage / Q000379:methods* / Q000451:nursing*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009633:Nonverbal Communication / Q000523:psychology; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control*
D053379:Chromogranin A