SynthesisScandinavian journal of caring sciences2025
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Footbath Effects and Optimal Procedures to Improve Sleep in Older Adults.
Synthesis in Scandinavian journal of caring sciences, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Footbath Effects and Optimal Procedures to Improve Sleep in Older Adults.Scandinavian journal of caring sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Physical factor therapies for insomnia: a narrative review of mechanisms, clinical evidence, and phenotype-guided applications.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
AIMS AND
objectivesSleep disturbances are prevalent among older adults and are linked to adverse health outcomes. While warm footbaths are widely practised as a non-pharmacological intervention, their effectiveness and optimal parameters remain uncertain. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effects of footbaths on sleep quality and determine evidence-based procedural recommendations. METHODOLOGICAL DESIGN AND JUSTIFICATION: Nine databases were systematically searched up to November 2023. Study quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute tools, and certainty of evidence was graded via the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE). Meta-analyses were conducted using random-effects models.
resultsA total of 18 studies involving 950 older adults (aged ≥ 60 years; 52.3% female) were included. Warm footbaths significantly improved subjective sleep quality compared with non-footbath controls (SMD = -0.76; 95% CI: [-1.22, -0.29]; p = 0.001). Optimal effects were observed with water temperatures ≤ 40°C (SMD = -1.31; 95% CI: [-1.63, -0.99]; p < 0.001), immersion times ≥ 10 min (SMD = -0.96; 95% CI: [-1.36, -0.57]; p < 0.001) and intervention periods of at least one week (SMD = -1.06; 95% CI: [-1.64, -0.48]; p = 0.0003), which showed significant sleep quality improvements.
conclusionWarm footbaths before bedtime may enhance perceived sleep quality in older adults, offering a simple, culturally adaptable intervention. Standardised protocols could strengthen their role in sleep hygiene practices. Future large-scale, multicentre trials integrating subjective and objective assessments are warranted to confirm efficacy and explore cross-cultural applicability.
trial registrationInternational Platform of Registered Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocols (INPLASY): INPLASY202290025.
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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.