Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
www.pharmpress.com/fact
Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 2004; 9: 48
Japanese employees use spa resorts to maintain their health. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether spa resort use has a beneficial effect on health.
The subjects were 3341 employees (2280 males and 1061 females) aged 20–65 years in local government in Japan. A questionnaire survey was conducted in January 2003. Analysis of covariance was used to examine the relationship between frequency of spa resort use and health-related quality of life as measured by SF-36, adjusted for potential confounding factors. Logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the effect of spa resort use on poor sleep quality as measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, sickness absence and hospital admission.
The physical and mental component summary scores of SF-36 increased with the frequency of spa resort use in both men and women. Less frequent use of spa resorts was associated with an increased risk of poor sleep quality in both men and women and long sickness absence (7 days or more) in the previous year in men but not in women. There was no significant relationship between the frequency of spa resort use and hospital admission in the previous year.
Although longitudinal research is necessary to clarify the causality, the use of spa resorts may have a beneficial effect on the maintenance of physical and mental health in employed men and women.
This study was in part funded by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
