Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39452476›Full record

ArticleDiseases (Basel, Switzerland)2024

Spa Therapy Efficacy in Mental Health and Sleep Quality Disorders in Patients with a History of COVID-19: A Comparative Study.

Maria Costantino, Valentina Giudice, Francesco Marongiu, Mariagrazia Bathilde Marongiu, Amelia Filippelli, Horst Kunhardt

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Diseases (Basel, Switzerland), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Challenges of blinding in clinical balneology trials: a scoping review.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025
    Article
  4. 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

6 authors.

Maria CostantinoDepartment of Medicine, Surgery, and Dentistry, University of Salerno, 84081 Baronissi, Italy.
Valentina GiudiceDepartment of Medicine, Surgery, and Dentistry, University of Salerno, 84081 Baronissi, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-7492-6848
Francesco MarongiuNon-Profit Association F.I.R.S.Thermae (Interdisciplinary Training, Researches and Spa Sciences), 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy.
Mariagrazia Bathilde MarongiuNon-Profit Association F.I.R.S.Thermae (Interdisciplinary Training, Researches and Spa Sciences), 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy.
Amelia FilippelliDepartment of Medicine, Surgery, and Dentistry, University of Salerno, 84081 Baronissi, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-8235-9118
Horst KunhardtFaculty Applied Healthcare, Deggendorf Institute of Technology-University of Applied Sciences, 94469 Deggendorf, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has left behind mental health issues like anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders among survivors. This study assessed the efficacy of spa therapy in enhancing psychological well-being and sleep quality in individuals with chronic arthro-rheumatic, respiratory, and otorhinolaryngological diseases, including COVID-19 recoverees. Our prospective observational study included 144 Caucasian subjects from three Italian spas who underwent a 2-week spa therapy cycle, involving balneotherapy and/or inhalation treatments. Symptoms were assessed with the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), psychological well-being with Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 items (DASS-21), and sleep quality with the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Significant reductions in VAS scores for arthro-rheumatic, respiratory, and otorhinolaryngological symptoms were observed after spa therapy, as well as for DASS-21 and ISI scores for sleep quality, transitioning to less severe insomnia categories. Females had more pronounced improvements in DASS-21 scores and sleep quality. Subjects with and without prior SARS-CoV-2 infection experienced significant reductions in anxiety, depression, and stress, with more pronounced improvements in those without prior infection. COVID-19 survivors also showed significant ISI score improvements. Spa therapy is a promising complementary treatment for improving mental health and sleep quality in chronic disease patients, including COVID-19 survivors.

Indexed as

anxietyCOVID-19depressionsleep disordersspa therapy

Identifiers

PMID39452476
PMCPMC11507196

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.