Middle Eastern Journal of Disability Studies

Background & Objectives: Metabolic syndrome is characterized by high blood pressure, glucose intolerance, high triglycerides, and high–density lipoprotein. The syndrome is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Metabolic syndrome is associated with sedentary behaviors and is one of the most common diseases, especially among women. Overweight and obesity are the major determinants of metabolic syndrome. Treatment options include lifestyle modification, psychotherapy, and drug therapy. At present, no surgical intervention has been accepted for metabolic syndrome. Logotherapy, among other methods, is the one that provides an excellent philosophical and theoretical field for teamwork. This therapy can be used for intervention purposes in the best situation. Since logotherapy affects the quality of life and public health, we aimed to find whether logotherapy is effective in the reduction of sedentary behavior among female patients with metabolic syndrome.
Methods: This quasi–experimental study has a pretest–posttest and a two–month follow–up design with a control group. The study's statistical population included all women aged 25–60 years with metabolic syndrome referring to Semnan clinics, Semnan City, Iran. The study was conducted from March to September 2018. The study sample consisted of 30 women selected through the available sampling method. They were matched and randomly divided into the experimental and control groups (each group with 15 persons). The inclusion criteria were as follows: having a minimum diploma and maximum bachelor's degree, being 25 to 60 years old, having been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome based on tests and the doctor's opinion in the patient's medical file, being able to answer questions, not attending other educational and therapeutic classes. The exclusion criteria were as follows: having disabilities and diseases related to motor behaviors, having physiological problems of arthritic joints and obesity, attending physiotherapy, and participating in sports clubs. For the experimental group, logotherapy training was provided in ten 90–min sessions twice a week. The control group did not receive any intervention. The data collection tool in the pretest, posttest, and follow–up for two groups was the Sedentary Behavior Questionnaire (Rosenberg et al., 2010). The obtained data were analyzed with descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (repeated measures analysis of variance, Bonferroni post hoc test, two–sample independent t test, and the Chi–square test) in SPSS software version 22. The significance level of the tests was set at 0.05.
Results: Results showed a significant difference between the groups regarding the intra–group, inter–group, and time effect comparisons (p=0.001). The experimental and control groups, regardless of the test time (the cumulative mean scores of the posttest and follow–up), had a significant difference regarding the sedentary behavior at the beginning and the end of the week (p=0.001). Also, the mean posttest scores of the two groups were not significantly different from the mean follow–up test scores of both groups (the cumulative mean posttest scores of the two groups with their cumulative mean follow–up scores) in the sedentary behaviors at the beginning of the week (p=0.425) and the end of the week (p=0.302). There were significant differences between the two groups in the posttest (p=0.019) and follow–up (p=0.019) regarding the sedentary behavior at the beginning of the week. Also, a significant difference was observed between the two groups in the posttest (p=0.009) and follow–up (p=0.001) regarding the sedentary behavior at the end of the week. Besides, in the experimental group, comparing the posttest with the follow–up scores regarding the sedentary behavior at the beginning of the week (p=0.381) and the end of the week (p=0.476) showed that the follow–up scores were not significantly different from the posttest scores, indicating the sustained effect of the intervention up to the follow–up phase.
Conclusion: Based on the results, logotherapy can reduce sedentary behavior by creating a purpose and meaning for female patients with metabolic syndrome. Therefore, this intervention is recommended for people with sedentary behavior.