Effectiveness of muscle relaxation exercises on decreasing stress, anxiety and depression in elderly people with type 2 diabetes in Isfahan marginal health centers in 2019

Diabetes is the most common metabolic and chronic diseases in elderly people. The most important complication in this group is psychological illness, including stress, anxiety and depression. Some nonpharmacological interventions, such as muscle relaxation exercises, may reduce these complications. The present study designed to determine the effect of muscle relaxation exercises on reducing stress, anxiety and depression in elderly people suffering type 2 diabetes.

A randomized clinical trial was conducted as a pre-test and post-test with two groups of experimental and control in the marginal centers of Isfahan in 2019 through face-to-face interview. Totally, 94 elderly people aged ≥ 60 years old with type 2 diabetes and expressed their stress, anxiety and depression ranging from mild to moderate according to DASS-21 questionnaire, were enrolled and randomly divided into experimental and control groups. In the intervention group, relaxation exercises were performed twice a day at home for six weeks. The data obtained were analyzed using Stata 14 software and statistical test Chi square, ttest. All stages of the study were conducted according to moral standards.

The stress, anxiety, and depression score decreased in the intervention group in the post-test phase as compared to the control group. The results also showed that educational intervention had a significant effect on the three variables.

Based on the results of this study, muscle relaxation training is recommended as an effective, convenient and low cost method to improve and prevent the psychological problems of the elderly people with type 2 diabetes.