Efficacy of an environmental enrichment intervention for endometriosis: a pilot study

Frontiers in Psychology

Psychology

Annelyn Torres-Reverón¹  Caroline B. Appleyard¹  Idhaliz Flores²  Grace De Hoyos³  Verónica López-Rodríguez³  Eida M. Castro³  Darlenne Ramos-Sostre³  Fanny Santiago-Saavedra³  Bárbara Barros-Cartagena³  Cristina Nieves-Vázquez³ 

[1] Department of Basic Sciences, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico;Sur180 Therapeutics, Inc., McAllen, TX, United States;Department of Basic Sciences, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico;Sur180 Therapeutics, Inc., McAllen, TX, United States;Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico;School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico;

关键词: endometriosis;    randomized clinical trial;    pelvic pain;    anxiety;    depression;    quality of life;    stress;    environmental enrichment;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1225790

 received in 2023-05-19, accepted in 2023-09-11,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionWe have previously shown that Environmental Enrichment (EE), a multi-modal psychosocial intervention consisting of increased social interaction, novelty, and open spaces, improved disease presentation, anxiety, and immune-related disturbances in the rat model of endometriosis. However, there is a knowledge gap regarding the effects of EE interventions in patients with this painful, inflammatory chronic disease.AimTo adapt and test the efficacy of an EE intervention on pelvic pain, mental health, perceived stress, quality of life, and systemic inflammation in endometriosis patients through a randomized clinical trial (RCT).Materials and methodsA multidisciplinary team with expertise in physiology, neuroscience, psychology, and women’s health adapted and implemented a two-arm RCT comparing an EE intervention with a wait-list control group. Six EE modules administered on alternate weeks were provided to patients in the intervention (N = 29); controls received education only. Survey data and biospecimens were collected at baseline, end-of-study, and 3-months post-intervention to assess pain (Brief Pain Inventory, BPI), endometriosis-related quality of life-QoL (Endometriosis Health Profile-30, EHP30), anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7, GAD7), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire for Depression 8, PHQ8), pain catastrophizing (Pain Catastrophizing Score, PCS), stress (Perceived Stress Scale-14, PSS14), and saliva cortisol levels (AM, PM).ResultsCompared to the wait-list controls, participants in the EE intervention showed significantly decreased GAD-7 scores at the end of the intervention and 3-month follow-up. Depression, perceived stress, and QoL improved at the 3-month follow-up compared to baseline. While pain levels did not improve, they significantly correlated with anxiety, depression, QoL and pain catastrophizing scores.ConclusionThis pilot RCT demonstrated significant improvements in anxiety and depressive symptoms, QoL, and perceived stress, supporting enriched environments as an integrative psychosocial intervention to be used as adjuvant to the standard of care for endometriosis pain.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 De Hoyos, Ramos-Sostre, Torres-Reverón, Barros-Cartagena, López-Rodríguez, Nieves-Vázquez, Santiago-Saavedra, Appleyard, Castro and Flores.