J Korean Acad Nurs.  2019 Aug;49(4):361-374. 10.4040/jkan.2019.49.4.361.

Effect of Autogenic Training for Stress Response: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

• Seo E
• Kim S

• KMID: 2456141
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4040/jkan.2019.49.4.361

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of autogenic training on stress responses through a systematic review and meta-analysis.
METHODS
A systematic search was conducted using eight core electronic databases (Embase, CENTRAL, Medline, CINAHL, PsycInfo, DBpia, KISS, and RISS). To estimate the effect size, a meta-analysis of the studies was performed using RevMan 5.3.5 program.
RESULTS
A total 21 studies out of 950 studies were included in the review, and 11 were included for meta-analysis. These studies showed that autogenic training decreased anxiety and depression, and increased the high frequency of heart rate variability. Calculations to understand the effect of autogenic training on anxiety, through a meta-analysis, observed a reduction effect of anxiety score by 1.37 points (n=85, SMD=−1.37: 95% CI −2.07 to −0.67), in the studies on short-term intervention targeting healthy adults. On the other hand, similar calculations to understand the effect of autogenic training on depression observed, a reduction effect on the depression score by 0.29 point (n=327, SMD=−0.29: 95% CI −0.50 to −0.07), in the studies on long term intervention targeting the patient group.
CONCLUSION
Autogenic training is effective for adults' stress management, and nurses will be able to effectively perform autogenic training programs for workers' stress relief at the workplace.

Keyword

Autogenic Training; Stress, Psychological; Stress, Physiological; Systematic Review; Meta-Analysis

MeSH Terms

Adult
Anxiety
Autogenic Training*
Depression
Hand
Heart Rate
Humans
Stress, Physiological
Stress, Psychological

Figure

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  Figure 1. Flow diagram of the study selection process.

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  Figure 2. Assessment risk of bias in included studies.

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  Figure 3. Forest plot of meta analysis on effects of autogenic training.

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  Figure 4. Funnel plot of standard error by standardized mean difference.

Reference

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