The effect of progressive muscle relaxation on glycated hemoglobin and health-related quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

AIM

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Jacobson's progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) on glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM).

BACKGROUND

Due to relatively poor HRQoL in patients with type 2 DM, different stress reduction techniques was applied to improve physical and mental health in these patients.

METHODS

This randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted at the Diabetes and Endocrinology Institute of Firoozgar Hospital, Tehran, Iran, between June and December 2015. Sixty-five patients with type 2 DM were randomly divided into the control (n=35) and PMR (n=30) groups. The patients of the control group only received the conventional care. The PMR group practiced Jacobson's PMR at home for 12 weeks and were monitored by the researcher's phone calls and patient's self-report list. For both groups, Iranian Diabetes Quality of Life Brief Clinical Inventory (IDQoL-BCI) questionnaire was completed and HbA1c levels were measured before and 12 weeks after study entry.

RESULTS

The results showed that there were no significant differences in terms of HbA1c levels and HRQoL scores between the PMR and control groups 12 weeks after intervention. However, in the PMR group, the intervention led to a significant reduction in HbA1c levels (P=0.04) and a significant increase in total HRQoL score (P=0.045) and its psychosocial dimension (P=0.019).

CONCLUSION

PMR had no significant impact on HbA1c levels and HRQoL in patients with type 2 DM. Further studies with larger sample size and longer follow-up are needed to improve QoL in patients with type 2 DM.