Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34556722›Full record

Trial reportScientific reports2021

Normobaric oxygen treatment for mild-to-moderate depression: a randomized, double-blind, proof-of-concept trial.

Yehudit Bloch, R H Belmaker, Pesach Shvartzman, Pnina Romem, Arkady Bolotin, Yuly Bersudsky, Abed N Azab

2 registry-linked trialsOpen access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 24% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT02149563 naunknown statusnot on this map

Oxygen Therapy in Depression

TypeinterventionalSponsorMeir Medical CenterRan2015 to 2016Enrolled200ConditionsDepression, Normobaric Hyperoxia.Armsoxygen-enriched air -Normobaric hyperoxia treatment for depression
NCT06946004 nanot yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

The Potential of Normobaric Oxygen Therapy to Enhance Erythropoiesis, Reduce Oxidative Stress, and Modulate Immune Function in Colorectal Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy: Study Protocol for a Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial (NBO-ONCO)

TypeinterventionalSponsor4th Military Clinical Hospital with Polyclinic, PolandRan2025 to 2028Enrolled254ConditionsColorectal Cancer (CRC)ArmsNormobaric oxygen therapy
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Critical flicker fusion frequency: confounders and caveats.European journal of applied physiology · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Editorial: Pain and Depression.Frontiers in psychology · 2022
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Yehudit BlochDepartment of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, School for Community Health Professions, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B 653, 8410501, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
R H BelmakerFaculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Pesach ShvartzmanDepartment of Family Medicine and Siaal Center for Community Research, The Haim Doron Division of Community Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Kappy and Eric Flanders National Palliative Care Resource Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Pnina RomemDepartment of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, School for Community Health Professions, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B 653, 8410501, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Arkady BolotinDepartment of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Yuly BersudskyPsychiatry Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Mental Health Center, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Abed N AzabDepartment of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, School for Community Health Professions, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B 653, 8410501, Beer-Sheva, Israel. azab@bgu.ac.il.
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev · IL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Oxygen enriched air may increase oxygen pressure in brain tissue and have biochemical effects even in subjects without lung disease. Consistently, several studies demonstrated that normobaric oxygen treatment has clinical benefits in some neurological conditions. This study examined the efficacy of normobaric oxygen treatment in subjects with depression. In a randomized, double-blind trial, 55 participants aged 18-65 years with mild to moderate depression (had a Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression [HRSD] score of ≥ 8) were recruited to the study from the Southern district in Israel. Participants underwent a psychiatric inclusion assessment at baseline and then were randomly assigned to either normobaric oxygen treatment of 35% fraction of inspired oxygen or 21% fraction of inspired oxygen (room air) through a nasal tube, for 4 weeks, during the night. Evaluations were performed at baseline, 2 and 4 weeks after commencement of study interventions, using the following tools: HRSD; Clinical Global Impression (CGI) questionnaire; World Health Organization-5 questionnaire for the estimation of Quality of Life (WHO-5-QOL); Sense of Coherence (SOC) 13-item questionnaire; and, Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS). A multivariate regression analysis showed that the mean ± standard deviation [SD] changes in the HRSD scores from baseline to week four were - 4.2 ± 0.3 points in the oxygen-treated group and - 0.7 ± 0.6 in the control group, for a between-group difference of 3.5 points (95% confidence interval [CI] - 5.95 to - 1.0; P = 0.007). Similarly, at week four there was a between-group difference of 0.71 points in the CGI score (95% CI - 1.00 to - 0.29; P = 0.001). On the other hand, the analysis revealed that there were no significant differences in WHO-5-QOL, SOC-13 or SDS scores between the groups. This study showed a significant beneficial effect of oxygen treatment on some symptoms of depression.Trial registration: NCT02149563 (29/05/2014).

Indexed as

Administration, InhalationAdolescentAdultAgedDepressionDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHumansIsraelMaleMiddle AgedOxygenProof of Concept StudyQuality of LifeSeverity of Illness IndexTreatment OutcomeOxygen

Identifiers

PMID34556722
PMCPMC8460750
OpenAlexW3200824698

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.