Kwan RYC, et al. – The authors conducted this randomized controlled trial to investigate the effect of acupressure on agitation and salivary cortisol in nursing home residents with dementia. Acupressure was a multicomponent intervention that could reduce agitation. In reducing agitation, acupoint activation could not be a significant component, although this result could have been limited by the inadequate sample size. In reducing salivary cortisol, acupressure was effective in people with dementia.

Methods

• The authors investigated the impact of acupressure on agitation, as measured by the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI); and on salivary cortisol, as measured at baseline (T0) and in the 3rd (T1), 5th (T2), and 8th (T3) weeks.
• They randomized 119 agitated residents with dementia into 3 groups: acupressure (n = 39), sham (n = 41), and usual-care group (n = 39).

Results

• The authors noted a downward trend in agitation over time in the acupressure group, which almost reached a level of significance in interaction effects between groups and time points (p = 0.052).
• Post hoc pairwise tests in the acupressure group demonstrated that compared to baseline, acupressure significantly reduced agitation at T2 (mean difference -6.84, 95% CI -10.60, -3.08).
• They observed significant interaction effects between groups and time points on the level of salivary cortisol (p = 0.022).