Individual Health Management (IHM) For Stress–A Randomised Controlled Trial (TALENT II Study)

Background/Objectives: Stress is a pervasive modern challenge that contributes to se-rious health problems and affects a significant proportion of the population. This study examines the effectiveness of a lifestyle intervention called Individual Health Man-agement (IHM) with a blended learning approach in reducing stress, as a possible so-lution to this problem. Methods: Participants experiencing stress were enrolled in a monocentric randomised controlled trial. The intervention group received the IHM programme and was moni-tored for 12 months. After six months, a primary comparison was conducted with a waitlist control group, who then also received the intervention. Additional crossover analyses were employed. The main outcome measure was the change in subjective stress (Perceived Stress Questionnaire, PSQ) from baseline after six months. Secondary outcomes included further stress- and mental load-related parameters. Results: The intervention group achieved normal stress levels, with a 41% reduction, while the control group experienced a 9% reduction. The adjusted mean difference on the PSQ between groups was -21.02 points (95% CI: -27.34, -14.70), accounting for base-line values and gender. Secondary outcomes also improved significantly. Conclusions: The IHM has multiple moderate to strong effects on mental health, re-sulting in clinically normal distress scores that can persist for up to one year.