Effect of valerian capsule on anxiety and quality of life in type 1 diabetes: a clinical trial

Treatment and complications of type 1 diabetes can affect the mental status of patients and their quality of life. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of valerian capsule on anxiety and quality of life in the patients with type 1 diabetes. This study was a clinical trial and included 82 patients with type 1 diabetes (control group 40 and intervention group 42). Intervention group received one capsule of Sedamin (containing 530 mg of valerian root extract) every night one hour before bed time, for eight weeks. Control group received a placebo capsule. Beck Anxiety Inventory was completed before the study and also after the 4th and 8th weeks of the study, and quality of life questionnaire (DQOL) was completed before and eight weeks after the study. Using SPSS software, data were analyzed by independent t-test, paired samples t-test and one-way covariance with repeated measures. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the anxiety scores between the two groups before the intervention and after four weeks of study. But we found a significant difference between the groups after eight weeks of study (p = 0.008). After the intervention, the quality of life scores in the intervention and control groups were 4.05 ± 0.7 and 3.23 ± 0.43 respectively indicating a significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.0001). The findings showed that use of valerian capsules for eight weeks reduced the anxiety in the patients with type 1 diabetes and improved their quality of life. We recommend use of this herbal medicine in the patients with type 1 diabetes and anxiety.