ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Environ. Health
Sec. Air Quality and Health
Volume 4 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenvh.2025.1432082
A study of the adjunctive therapeutic effects of a three-week bamboo forest therapy on chronic diseases in the elderly
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Public Health, Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Monitoring and Disease Control, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China
- 2epartment of Teaching and Medical Management, Sixth People's Hospital of Guiyang, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China
- 3General Practice Hospital, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou Province, China
- 4University Health Research Institute, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China
- 5Department of Blood Transfusion, Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China
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The health benefits of bamboo forest recreation on the human body are becoming increasingly recognized. However, limited research has focused on integrating environmental factor monitoring with smart platforms for population health management and assessment. This study monitors environmental parameters, including anion concentration, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, acoustic environment, and volatile organic compounds in a bamboo forest, while recruiting elderly participants with essential hypertension, type II diabetes, and sleep disorders. A non-invasive wearable device was employed to track the health of the participants, followed by a 21day precision health management intervention within the bamboo forest. The concentration of negative oxygen ions in this region exceeds 10,000 ions per cm 3 , alongside terpenes and other healthpromoting volatile substances. A total of 70 participants participated in the platform. Compared to baseline measurements, hypertensive participants experienced significant reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as pulse rate (p < 0.001). Diabetic participants showed significant decreases in fasting and pre-bedtime blood glucose levels (p < 0.001), along with reduced blood glucose fluctuations post-meal. Participants with sleep disorders demonstrated statistically significant improvements in key sleep parameters, including the minimum blood oxygen level at sleep onset, the Oxygen Desaturation Index, wake frequency, REM sleep percentage, and subjective sleep quality (p < 0.05). The overall sleep quality score also showed significant improvement. This study substantiates the therapeutic potential of bamboo forests in alleviating chronic diseases among the elderly, offering valuable insights for planning "bamboo bath" experiences.
Keywords: Bamboo forest therapy, Health management, environmental parameters, Volatile substances, chronic diseases of the elderly, Non-invasive and wearable devices； informatization
Received: 13 May 2024; Accepted: 21 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 He, Wan, Xiao, Zhang, Liang, Zhu and cao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
ZIxin Zhu, Department of Blood Transfusion, Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 550004, Guizhou Province, China
yu cao, University Health Research Institute, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China
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