Effect of Reiki Therapy on Blood Pressure and Alcohol Consumption in Young Adults: A Clinical Trial.

Introduction • The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes Reiki therapy as a form of therapy within the classification of alternative therapies. Recently, a growing interest regarding the implementation of Reiki therapy in patient care relating to the field of nursing has been detected; however, there are few scientifically rigorous studies that support this. Objective • To determine the effect of Reiki therapy on blood pressure (BP) and alcohol consumption in young adults with hypertension, in two urban communities in northern of Mexico. Methodology • A randomized and controlled clinical trial, with an equivalent experimental group (EG) and a control group (CG). Longitudinal design of repeated parallel measurements and triple-blind masking. Results • The averages of the Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) of EG. vs. CG in the test vs. retest were: 109.91±2.3 vs. 111.19±3.3 (P=.140) and retest: 97.00±4.9 vs. 110.94 ±2.9 (P=.001). In alcohol consumption at test: 11.00±2.9 vs. 11.54±2.8 (P=.527) and at retest: 8.83±1.02 vs. 11.83 ± 1.92 (P = .001). In the ANOVA analysis for the EG, the MAP decrease between measurements 1 and 2; and 1 and 3 (P=.001). Regarding alcohol consumption, there was no difference between measurements 1 and 2 nor in measurements 2 and 3. There was only a significant difference between measurements 1 and 3 (P=.015). Conclusion • The results obtained confirmed our hypothesis of the research, since the EG had a significant effect on the decrease of the MAP and alcohol consumption after 21 sessions of Reiki therapy intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]