The Effectiveness of MIND Diet and Forest Bathing on Stress Reduction

NCT06351423 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: HE-NHS2023/03
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 30
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This clinical trial aims to explore the effectiveness of the Mediterranean DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet and Forest Bathing (FB) in reducing psychological stress among older Chinese individuals. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. 1.what is the effect of FB on stress reduction
2. 2.what is the effect of MIND on stress reduction
3. 3.FB: a two-hour FB session on four consecutive weekends in a country park,
4. 4.MIND: four nutrition sessions, and adhere to the MIND diet for 12 weeks

Conditions

Anxiety; Depression; Stress; Psychological Stress

Keywords

MIND diet; Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay; FB; Forest Bathing

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Emotional states

  Emotional states are measured using self-reported Chinese questionaries of depression, anxiety and stress scale -21 items (DASS-21) with alpha coefficient ranging from 0.79 to 0.83 (Cao et al., 2023).

  The outcome measures will be evaluated at three time points: baseline assessment (T0), immediately after the fourth session (T1), and 12 weeks following the intervention (T2) at the participating community center.

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP)

  The outcome measures will be evaluated at three time points: baseline assessment (T0), immediately after the fourth session (T1), and 12 weeks following the intervention (T2) at the participating community center.

• Salivary Cortisol

  The outcome measures will be evaluated at three time points: baseline assessment (T0), immediately after the fourth session (T1), and 12 weeks following the intervention (T2) at the participating community center.

Study Arms (3)

MIND Diet and Forest Bathing (MIND-FB)

EXPERIMENTAL

In this arm, participants will receive both the MIND diet and Forest Bathing (FB) intervention.

Behavioral: Forest Bathing (FB); Behavioral: MIND diet

Forest bathing (FB)

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

In this arm, participants will receive Forest Bathing intervention only.

Behavioral: Forest Bathing (FB)

routine care group

NO INTERVENTION

The routine care group will be instructed to perform daily activities as usual and will receive a health talk and be given pamphlets about tips on maintaining mental well-being.

Interventions

Forest Bathing (FB) BEHAVIORAL

The forest bathing (FB) intervention will be comprised of four 2-hour sessions held in a country park on four consecutive weekends during the daytime. The FB sessions will cover 1-2 kilometers per forest visit. Participants will convene at the country park entrance. An FB guide will provide a briefing and commence the forest trip. Following 20 minutes for participants to slow down and share their experiences, they will be invited to mindfully center themselves using their five senses for another 20 minutes. Subsequently, the participants will be afforded 20 minutes to wander along a designated forest path, followed by another 20 minutes during which they will be encouraged to stroll in a designated area to help foster a deep connection with the forest. Participants will have a 20-minute interval between each activity to share their experiences. A tea ceremony will be held at the end of each FB session.

Forest bathing (FB); MIND Diet and Forest Bathing (MIND-FB)

MIND diet BEHAVIORAL

The participants will undertake four three-month nutrition programmes consisting of four nutrition counselling sessions in an activity room at each participating community centre. All intervention sessions will be conducted by a registered nutritionist. In the nutrition sessions, the participants will learn to modify their diet to meet the MIND diet guidelines. The MIND diet promotes 10 healthy food groups and limits five unhealthy food groups (Morris et al., 2015a; Arjmand et al., 2022). As a reference, a 7-day sample menu will be provided which meets the required number of servings per day.

MIND Diet and Forest Bathing (MIND-FB)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 50 Years - 75 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Chinese ethnicity, and
• able to speak and understand Cantonese, and
• the Chinese version of the DASS-21 stress subscale score larger than or equal to 8, and smaller than or equal to 12; or
• the Chinese version of the DASS-21 anxiety subscale score larger than or equal to 4, and smaller than or equal to 7, or
• the Chinese version of the DASS-21 depression subscale score larger than or equal to 5, and smaller than or equal to 10.

You may not qualify if:

• kidney disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that is poorly controlled
• known allergies to berries, nuts, fish or olive oil
• known to mental health services
• those who participated in any relaxation or dietary programme in the past 3 months and those who anticipate joining such a programme shortly
• those who are unable to walk independently

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Hong Kong Metropolitan University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Hong Kong Metropolitan University

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

RECRUITING

Related Publications (6)

• Yau KY, Law PS, Wong CN. Cardiac and Mental Benefits of Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) Diet plus Forest Bathing (FB) versus MIND Diet among Older Chinese Adults: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 8;19(22):14665. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192214665.

  PMID: 36429384 BACKGROUND

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  BACKGROUND

• Lee I, Choi H, Bang KS, Kim S, Song M, Lee B. Effects of Forest Therapy on Depressive Symptoms among Adults: A Systematic Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017 Mar 20;14(3):321. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14030321.

  PMID: 28335541 BACKGROUND

• Fresan U, Bes-Rastrollo M, Segovia-Siapco G, Sanchez-Villegas A, Lahortiga F, de la Rosa PA, Martinez-Gonzalez MA. Does the MIND diet decrease depression risk? A comparison with Mediterranean diet in the SUN cohort. Eur J Nutr. 2019 Apr;58(3):1271-1282. doi: 10.1007/s00394-018-1653-x. Epub 2018 Mar 7.

  PMID: 29516224 BACKGROUND

• Cherian L, Wang Y, Holland T, Agarwal P, Aggarwal N, Morris MC. DASH and Mediterranean-Dash Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) Diets Are Associated With Fewer Depressive Symptoms Over Time. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2021 Jan 1;76(1):151-156. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glaa044.

  PMID: 32080745 BACKGROUND

• Barkhordari R, Namayandeh M, Mirzaei M, Sohouli MH, Hosseinzadeh M. The relation between MIND diet with psychological disorders and psychological stress among Iranian adults. BMC Psychiatry. 2022 Jul 25;22(1):496. doi: 10.1186/s12888-022-04128-2.

  PMID: 35879688 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Anxiety Disorders; Depression; Stress, Psychological

Interventions

Forest Therapy

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mental Disorders; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Relaxation Therapy; Mind-Body Therapies; Complementary Therapies; Therapeutics

Study Officials

• Fabian Ling Ngai Tung, PhD

  Assistant Professor

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Fabian Ling Ngai Tung, PhD

CONTACT

85239708732; ftung@hkmu.edu.hk

Queenie Pui Sze Law, PhD

CONTACT

852 39702974; qlaw@hkmu.edu.hk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: a 3-arm randomized controlled study in a parallel design. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned into 3 interventions: (1) FB-MIND, (2) FB and (3) routine care-control.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 2, 2024
• First Posted: April 8, 2024
• Study Start: July 3, 2024
• Primary Completion: August 31, 2024
• Study Completion: November 30, 2024
• Last Updated: July 3, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP
• Time Frame: 6 months after publication.
• Access Criteria: Investigators whose proposed research has received approval from the Institutional Review Boards (IRB).

Locations

HK (1)