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

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.