A randomised controlled trial assessing the effects of weather sensitivity profile and walking in nature on the psychophysiological response to stress in individuals with coronary artery disease. A study protocol
- PMID: 38374158
- PMCID: PMC10877807
- DOI: 10.1186/s40359-024-01574-3
A randomised controlled trial assessing the effects of weather sensitivity profile and walking in nature on the psychophysiological response to stress in individuals with coronary artery disease. A study protocol
Abstract
Background: The following protocol pertains to a pioneer study, aiming to investigate how weather sensitivity and walking in different environments affects the psychophysiological responses to the stress of individuals with coronary artery disease (CAD) during rehabilitation (WE_SENSE_THE_NATURE). This randomised control trial will provide fresh insight on the influence of the environmental exposure in CAD patients, as it is seldom investigated in association to the disease. Additionally, findings on the link between personality traits and cognitive functions (especially cognitive flexibility), and weather sensitivity may help reveal a fine-grained perspective on the treatment possibilities for individuals with CAD at risk to stress-vulnerability.
Methods: The proposed protocol is for a randomised control trial among individuals attending a cardiac rehabilitation program. We aim to recruit 164 individuals, collecting information related to demographic characteristics, weather sensitivity, functional capacity, personality traits, subjective mental health status, cognitive function, and basal cortisol level of participating individuals. Basal cortisol level refers to cortisol concentration in saliva and will be tested in the morning and the afternoon prior to the day of the experiment. After baseline measurements, the patients will be randomly assigned to either walking outdoors or walking indoors. All measures and their sequential order will remain the same within each group, while the treatment condition (i.e., walking environment) will vary between groups. On the day of the experiment, hemodynamic parameters (assessed via 6-hour blood pressure measurements), stress level (consisting of assessments of cortisol level), and mood (assessed using visual analogues scale) will be registered. Cold stress test will be administered to evaluate the effect of walking in different environments.
Discussion: The outcomes of this study may have direct clinical applications for the use of different types of exercise environments in cardiac rehabilitation programs. Awareness about the potential influence of weather sensitivity on the psychophysiological reactions to stress in individuals with CAD may contribute to a timely planning and implementation of actions leading to improved medical care services and preventive measures, especially considering the expected weather oscillations and extreme weather events due to unfolding of the climate change.
Trial registration: This protocol has been retrospectively registered in ClinicalTrials.gov with identifier code: NCT06139705 on November 20, 2023.
Keywords: Cardiac rehabilitation; Coronary artery diseases; Nature; Stress reaction; Walking; Weather sensitivity.
© 2024. The Author(s).
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare no competing interests.
Figures
Similar articles
-
Folic acid supplementation and malaria susceptibility and severity among people taking antifolate antimalarial drugs in endemic areas.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022 Feb 1;2(2022):CD014217. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD014217. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022. PMID: 36321557 Free PMC article.
-
Physical Activity after Cardiac EventS (PACES) - a group education programme with subsequent text-message support designed to increase physical activity in individuals with diagnosed coronary heart disease: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.Trials. 2018 Oct 4;19(1):537. doi: 10.1186/s13063-018-2923-x. Trials. 2018. PMID: 30286797 Free PMC article.
-
The e-mental health treatment in Stockholm myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronaries or Takotsubo syndrome study (E-SMINC): a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.Trials. 2022 Jul 26;23(1):597. doi: 10.1186/s13063-022-06530-3. Trials. 2022. PMID: 35883115 Free PMC article.
-
The role of a behavioural medicine intervention in physiotherapy for the effects of rehabilitation outcomes in exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (ECRA) - the study protocol of a randomised, controlled trial.BMC Cardiovasc Disord. 2017 May 25;17(1):134. doi: 10.1186/s12872-017-0557-7. BMC Cardiovasc Disord. 2017. PMID: 28545400 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
-
Novel Augmentation Strategies in Major Depression.Dan Med J. 2017 Apr;64(4):B5338. Dan Med J. 2017. PMID: 28385173 Review.
References
-
- Gecaite J, Burkauskas J, Brozaitiene J, Mickuviene N. Cardiovascular reactivity to Acute Mental stress: THE IMPORTANCE OF TYPE D PERSONALITY, TRAIT ANXIETY, AND DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS IN PATIENTS AFTER ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROMES. J Cardiopulm Rehabil Prev. 2019;39:E12–e18. doi: 10.1097/HCR.0000000000000457. - DOI - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
Associated data
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical
Miscellaneous