Combining Education With Auricular Acupressure to Facilitate Smoking Cessation in Young Adults.

Young adults rarely use pharmacotherapy to cease smoking. This prospective experimental study was performed using a nonpharmacotherapy design. Smoking cessation education combined with auricular acupressure may be more attractive. The key factor for superior smoking cessation was the decrease of nicotine dependence in the early stage of smoking cessation.

A Prospective Comparison Study of Heart Rate Variability During Menses in Young Women With Dysmenorrhea.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have demonstrated autonomic abnormalities in various pain conditions. However, few have investigated heart rate variability (HRV) in young women with primary dysmenorrhea, and the conclusions have been inconsistent. More evidence is required to confirm the reported trend for consistent fluctuation of HRV parameters in dysmenorrhea. PURPOSE: The study's aim was to determine whether significant differences exist between young women with and without dysmenorrhea for heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), and HRV parameters during menses. DESIGN: A prospective comparison design with repeated measures was used. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-six women aged 18-25 with dysmenorrhea and 54 eumenorrheic women were recruited from a university in northern Taiwan. METHODS: High-frequency and low-frequency HRV parameters (HF and LF), LF/HF ratio, BP, and HR were measured daily between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. from Day 1 to Day 6 during menses. The generalized estimating equation was used to analyze the effects of group, time, and Group × Time interaction on these variables. RESULTS: HF values were significantly lower in the dysmenorrhea than in the eumenorrhea group, but there were no differences in BP, HR, LF, or LF/HF ratio. CONCLUSION: Reduced HF values reflect reduced parasympathetic activity and autonomic instability in young women with dysmenorrhea. Future longitudinal studies are warranted to examine autonomic regulation in menstrual pain of varying intensities associated with dysmenorrhea-related symptoms and to clarify the causal relationship between dysmenorrhea and HRV fluctuations.

Auricular acupressure combined with multimedia instruction or alone for quitting smoking in young adults: A quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Smoking plays a disease-related risk factor and is however the principal cause of preventable death. Many studies support the use of combined rather than single interventions to stop smoking. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of auricular acupressure combined with multimedia instruction in comparison with auricular acupressure alone on smoking cessation in young adults. METHOD: A quasi-experimental research design was used and participants were assigned to experimental groups according to their preference. Group 1 received the 10-week program with auricular acupressure plus multimedia instruction; Group 2 received auricular acupressure alone. Thirty-two participants were in each group were recruited from universities in Taiwan. The physical and psychological data were collected right before and after the program. RESULTS: This study demonstrated the effects of smoking cessation on physical and psychological factors in each group. Statistical between-group differences existed in psychological factors of smoking cessation self-efficacy and nicotine dependence, but not in physical factors of carbon monoxide and cotinine. CONCLUSIONS: This study adds to the body of research on the benefits of using auricular acupressure combined with or without multimedia instruction for smoking cessation in adolescents. The combined intervention was more effective especially in increasing smoking cessation self-efficacy and decreasing nicotine dependence. Further study is suggested adding control groups such as placebo in order to understand a single effect of smoking cessation.