Yoon Seok-In, Park Hui-Yeong, Park Chan, Pyun Jiho, Yoo Jae-Hong, Song Geum-Ju, Lee Hyun Woo, Chung Sun-Yong, Kim Jong Woo
Department of Neuropsychiatry, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital at Gangdong, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Front Psychiatry. 2025 Jun 13;16:1508937. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1508937. eCollection 2025.
Hwabyung is a Korean culture-bound syndrome characterized by anger-related physical and psychological symptoms. Depressive disorder is a common mental disorder that occurs worldwide and is highly comorbid with Hwabyung. In traditional East Asian medicine, both Hwabyung and depression are associated with an imbalance in vital energy termed qi. Mindfulness induces psychosomatic balance, and qigong facilitates the cultivation and regulation of qi, which may be effective treatments for Hwabyung and depression. This study aimed to investigate whether Mindfulness and Qigong Training for Self-Healing (MQT-SH) could improve psychosomatic symptoms in patients with Hwabyung and depressive disorders.
This was a two-arm, randomized controlled trial. Patients diagnosed with both Hwabyung and depressive disorder were included in the trial. A total of 64 participants were recruited and randomly assigned to either the experimental (=32) or control group (=32). The experimental group underwent MQT-SH that consisted of mindfulness and qigong for the first six weeks, whereas the control group received no treatment. During the next six weeks, the control group performed MQT-SH for ethical equity. Assessments were conducted at baseline, post-intervention (6-week), and follow-up (12-week).
MQT-SH significantly decreased Hwabyung, depression, anxiety, and anger while increasing subjective vitality, and the effectiveness of the intervention were maintained at a short-term follow-up of 6 weeks. Physical vitality mediated the effectiveness of the MQT-SH on Hwabyung, whereas psychological vitality mediated the effectiveness of the MQT-SH on depression. Only one adverse event was reported during the intervention period. Home practice was not significantly associated with any intervention change.
This study demonstrated that MQT-SH is an effective and safe intervention for patients with Hwabyung and depressive disorders. This study explored the possibility that subjective vitality may serve as a mechanism for treating psychosomatic and mood symptoms. Future studies should control for placebo effects and conduct long-term follow-ups.
This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Kyung-Hee University Oriental Medicine Hospital in Gangdong (KHNMCOH 2023-09-003).
https://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/search/detailSearch.do?seq=26882&status=5&seq_group=25511&search_page=M, identifier KCT0008937.
火病是一种韩国的文化相关综合征，其特征为与愤怒相关的身心症状。抑郁症是一种在全球范围内常见的精神障碍，与火病高度共病。在传统东亚医学中，火病和抑郁症都与一种称为气的生命能量失衡有关。正念可诱导身心平衡，气功有助于气的培养和调节，这可能是治疗火病和抑郁症的有效方法。本研究旨在调查正念与气功自我疗愈训练（MQT-SH）是否能改善火病和抑郁症患者的身心症状。
这是一项双臂随机对照试验。试验纳入了同时诊断为火病和抑郁症的患者。共招募了64名参与者，并随机分配到实验组（=32）或对照组（=32）。实验组在前六周接受由正念和气功组成的MQT-SH，而对照组不接受治疗。在接下来的六周里，为了伦理公平，对照组进行MQT-SH。在基线、干预后（6周）和随访（12周）进行评估。
MQT-SH显著降低了火病、抑郁、焦虑和愤怒水平，同时提高了主观活力，干预效果在6周的短期随访中得以维持。身体活力介导了MQT-SH对火病的疗效，而心理活力介导了MQT-SH对抑郁症的疗效。干预期间仅报告了1例不良事件。家庭练习与任何干预变化均无显著关联。
本研究表明，MQT-SH是一种治疗火病和抑郁症患者有效且安全的干预措施。本研究探讨了主观活力可能作为治疗身心和情绪症状机制的可能性。未来的研究应控制安慰剂效应并进行长期随访。
本研究经庆熙大学江东韩医医院机构审查委员会批准（KHNMCOH 2023-09-003）。
