Effect of Kundalini Reiki on Premenstrual Syndrome Symptoms and Quality of Life in Nursing Students: A Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Kundalini Reiki on premenstrual syndrome symptoms and quality of life.Methods: The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase consisted of a descriptive cross-sectional screening to identify nursing students with PMS who were eligible for the intervention. The second phase was a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the effect of Kundalini Reiki on nursing students with PMS. All students (N=249) were screened; 90 were randomised to intervention and placebo groups. Data were collected using the individual information form, the PMS Questionnaire (PMSQ), and the SF-36 Quality of Life (QoL) Scale. Post-intervention comparisons were performed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), adjusting for baseline (pre-test) scores.Results: In the first study phase, 156 students were identified as having PMS based on the PMSQ score. After adjustment for baseline scores, the intervention group had significantly lower depressive affect, anxiety, fatigue, nervousness, depressive thoughts, pain, sleep disorders, and total PMSQ scores than the placebo group (P .05). Regarding quality of life, the intervention group had significantly higher scores for physical function, role limitations due to emotional problems, mental health, social function, pain, and general health perception (P .05).Conclusion: Nursing students receiving Kundalini Reiki demonstrated greater improvements in premenstrual syndrome symptoms and several quality-of-life domains than those receiving placebo.