In September 2010, Christchurch, New Zealand, was hit by a 7.1 earthquake. Researchers at the University of Canterbury, Ohio State University, and the West Coast District Health Board (in Greymouth, New Zealand) wanted to study the effects such an event had on the anxiety, fear, and depression levels of earthquake survivors.
According to researchers, “psychological distress, including heightened anxiety, fear, and depression, in those who survive a natural disaster such as an earthquake is well supported by research.” What they hoped to discover was whether there was a way to prevent or ameliorate the adverse outcomes of such a catastrophic and stressful event.
Motivated by previous studies on the effect of micronutrients on mental health, these researchers conducted randomized controlled trials on 91 participants. The research subjects were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: one taking the multivitamin supplement Berocca, and the other two taking the Truehope formula (one group took a 4-capsule daily dosage, and the other group took an 8-capsule daily dosage).
Each participant took the DASS-42, PSS, and IES-R tests, then were monitored for 4 weeks. After the 4 weeks, they each filled out a CGI-I questionnaire, which they did again another month later. In addition, 25 people who declined to participate in the trial but had filled out a prescreening survey were willing to fill out another survey 4 weeks later. This gave researchers a non-randomized control group to compare results with.
Analysis of the data showed that both Truehope groups saw a greater reduction in total DASS scores over the Berocca group (57% and 50% reductions, compared to 47% reduction) between the baseline at start and the 4 week mark. In addition, the Truehope groups saw greater reductions in total IES-R scores compared to the Berocca group (49% and 45%, compared to 37%), as well as the PSS scores (35% and 27%, compared to 21%).
Compared to the control group and the Berocca group, a higher percentage of Truehope participants saw 50% or greater reduction in outcomes in total DASS scores (74% and 60% compared to 20% for control and 43% for Berocca), total IES-R scores (48% and 53%, compared to 12% and 37%), and PSS scores (29% and 20%, compared to 8% and 17%).
Finally, all groups experienced significant declines in psychological symptoms. The Truehope groups experienced greater reduction in intrusive thoughts as compared with Berocca. As well, the 8-dosage Truehope group reported greater improvement in mood, anxiety, and energy with twice as many reporting being “much” to “very much” improved and 5 times more likely to continue taking the Truehope formula post-trial than the Berocca group.
This research joins a growing body of evidence once again confirming what we at Truehope have known for years: Truehope EMPowerplus improves mental health and restores hope and happiness in the lives of tens of thousands of people around the world. The Truehope formulation is the most-studied broad spectrum formula in the world, for either physical or mental health symptoms, though it is not the only one.
We look forward to sharing additional research in the very near future.