Color therapy shows reduced fatigue and depression, improved quality of life in Parkinson's patients

BACKGROUND: When compared with healthy people, fatigue, depression, and a lower quality of life are frequently experienced by Parkinson's patients. Color therapy has effects such as reducing depression and improving focusing problems. AIM: Examining the effects of color therapy on fatigue, depression, and quality of life in Parkinson's patients constitutes the aim of the present study. METHOD: This randomized controlled trial was conducted with 60 Parkinson's patients (30 intervention, 30 control). In the first and second weeks, the intervention group received color therapy 3 days per week, consisting of 15-min exposures to purple, yellow, and orange light (totaling 45 min per session). No intervention was performed during the third and fourth weeks. In the fifth and seventh weeks, a single weekly session was administered, applying each color for 15 min (totaling 45 min), while no intervention was carried out in the sixth week. Post-test data were collected in the eighth week. The control group received no intervention. Data collection tools included a "Patient Information Form," "Parkinson Fatigue Scale (PFS-16)," "Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)," and "SF-36 Quality of Life Scale." RESULTS: The total mean score and sub-dimension scores of PFS-16 and the total mean score of BDI decreased statistically significantly in the intervention group (p = 0.05). The intervention also caused a significant increase in SF-36 quality of life total score and sub-dimension mean scores of the intervention group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Color therapy application was found to decrease the level of fatigue and depression and improve the quality of life in Parkinson's patients.