Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council of Italy, Via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, 56128 Pisa, Italy.
Nutrients. 2022 Dec 7;14(24):5198. doi: 10.3390/nu14245198.
Studies in psychiatric populations have found a positive effect of Horticultural therapy (HCT) on reductions in stress levels. The main objective of the present pilot study was to evaluate the impact of the addition of HCT to conventional clinical treatment (Treatment as Usual, TaU) in a sample of six female adolescents with anorexia nervosa restricting type (AN-R), as compared to six AN-R patients, matched for sex and age, under TaU only. This is a prospective, non-profit, pilot study on patients with a previous diagnosis of AN-R and BMI < 16, recruited in 2020 in clinical settings. At enrolment (T0) and after treatment completion (TF), psychiatric assessment was performed. At T0, all the patients underwent: baseline electrocardiogram acquisition with a wearable chest strap for recording heart rate and its variability; skin conductance registration and thermal mapping of the individual’s face. An olfactory identification test was administered both to evaluate the olfactory sensoriality and to assess the induced stress. One-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were performed to analyze modifications in clinical and physiological variables, considering time (T0, TF) as a within-subjects factor and group (experimental vs. control) as between-subjects factors. When the ANOVA was significant, post hoc analysis was performed by Paired Sample T-tests. Only in the HCT group, stress response levels, as measured by the biological parameters, improved over time. The body uneasiness level and the affective problem measures displayed a significant improvement in the HCT subjects. HCT seems to have a positive influence on stress levels in AN-R.
在精神科人群的研究中发现，园艺疗法（HCT）对降低压力水平有积极影响。本初步研究的主要目的是评估在 6 名患有神经性厌食症限制型（AN-R）的女性青少年中，将 HCT 加入常规临床治疗（常规治疗，TaU）的效果，与仅接受 TaU 的 6 名 AN-R 患者进行性别和年龄匹配。这是一项前瞻性、非营利性的初步研究，纳入了 2020 年在临床环境中确诊为 AN-R 且 BMI<16 的患者。在入组（T0）和治疗结束（TF）时进行了精神病学评估。在 T0，所有患者都接受了以下检查：使用可穿戴胸带进行基线心电图采集，以记录心率及其变异性；皮肤电导率记录和个体面部的热图。进行了嗅觉识别测试，以评估嗅觉感觉，并评估诱导的压力。采用单因素方差分析（ANOVAs）分析临床和生理变量的变化，将时间（T0、TF）作为组内因素，将组（实验组与对照组）作为组间因素。当方差分析有意义时，采用配对样本 T 检验进行事后分析。只有在 HCT 组中，通过生物参数测量的应激反应水平随时间推移而改善。在 HCT 组中，身体不适程度和情感问题测量值显著改善。HCT 似乎对 AN-R 患者的压力水平有积极影响。
