Modifiable disease risk, readiness to change, and psychosocial functioning improve with integrative medicine immersion model.

<bold>Background: </bold>Stroke, diabetes, and coronary heart disease (CHD) remain leading causes of death in the United States and are largely attributable to lifestyle behaviors. Integrative medicine can provide a supportive partnership that focuses on improving health by identifying and implementing lifestyle changes based upon personal values and goals.<bold>Objective: </bold>This prospective observational study was designed to assess the effectiveness of an integrative medicine intervention on modifiable disease risk, patient activation, and psychosocial risk factors for stroke, diabetes, and CHD.<bold>Design: </bold>Sixty-three adults participated in a 3-day comprehensive, multimodal health immersion program at Duke Integrative Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina. Participants received follow-up education, physician support, and telephonic health coaching between the immersion program and the endpoint 7 to 9 months later.<bold>Primary Outcome Measures: </bold>Psychosocial functioning, readiness to change health behaviors, and risk of developing diabetes, stroke, and CHD were assessed at baseline and endpoint.<bold>Results: </bold>Although cardiac risk remained unchanged (P = .19) during the study period, risk of diabetes (P = .02) and stroke (P < .01) decreased significantly. Perceived stress remained unchanged, but improvements were seen in mood (P < .05) and relationship satisfaction (P < .004). Patients became more activated towards self-management of health (P <.001), endorsed greater readiness to change health behaviors (P <.01), and reported increased aerobic exercise (P <.001) and stretching (P = .006) following the intervention.<bold>Conclusion: </bold>An integrative health model can help patients become more engaged in self-management of health and support them in making and maintaining healthy lifestyle changes. These findings provide support for use of an integrative health model in adult disease risk reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]