International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology
March 11, 2021
Adrián Pérez-aranda, J. García-Campayo, F. Gudé et al.
Mindfulness and self-compassion are linked to lower anxiety and depression, but resilience only partly explains their effect on depression, not on anxiety. In a cross-sectional survey of 860 Spanish adults, both mindfulness and self-compassion had direct negative associations with anxiety and depressive symptoms. However, indirect effects through resilience were significant only for depression, suggesting that resilience may be a mechanism through which mindfulness and self-compassion reduce depression but not anxiety.
International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology
February 18, 2021
C. Strauss, Jenny Gu, J. Montero-Marín et al.
A randomized controlled trial assigned 234 National Health Service workers to either mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for life (MBCT-L) or a wait-list. MBCT-L reduced stress more than the wait-list, with a medium-to-large effect size, and improved well-being, depression, and anxiety. No effects were found for work-related outcomes. Mindfulness and self-compassion appeared to mediate the stress and well-being improvements. The authors suggest MBCT-L could be an effective component of a broader healthcare worker mental health strategy.
Mindfulness
December 2, 2020
R. Baer, C. Crane, J. Montero-Marín et al.
About two-thirds of schoolteachers and university students who took an 8-week mindfulness course reported unpleasant experiences linked to the practice, though most rated these as not at all or only somewhat upsetting, and some found them beneficial. The proportion reporting harm from the course ranged from 3 to 7%, and the proportion showing reliable deterioration on symptom questionnaires ranged from 2 to 7%. These groups largely did not overlap, indicating that harm may not be detected by standard symptom measures. The findings suggest mindfulness teachers should prepare participants for possible difficulties and assess harm explicitly.
Pain
August 13, 2019
Adrián Pérez-aranda, A. Feliu‐Soler, J. Montero-Marín et al.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) plus usual care reduces functional impairment in fibromyalgia more than usual care alone, both immediately after treatment (large effects) and at 12-month follow-up (medium to large effects). MBSR also outperforms a multicomponent intervention (FibroQoL) plus usual care at post-treatment (medium to large effects), but long-term advantages are modest, limited to less pain catastrophising and fibromyalginess. The number needed to treat for a 20% improvement post-treatment is 4.0 for MBSR versus usual care and 5.0 for MBSR versus FibroQoL. Improvements in functional impact are mediated by reduced psychological inflexibility and increased acting with awareness.
Brain, behavior, and immunity
August 1, 2019
Laura Andrés-Rodríguez, Xavier Borràs, A. Feliu‐Soler et al.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) reduced clinical severity in female fibromyalgia patients and prevented a decline in the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 that occurred in the treatment-as-usual group. Higher baseline levels of the chemokine CXCL8 weakened MBSR's beneficial effects on pain, energy, stiffness, and sleep quality. Higher baseline ratios of pro-inflammatory IL-6/IL-10 and CXCL8/IL-10 were linked to less improvement in psychological inflexibility after MBSR. The authors propose that immune biomarkers may help predict who responds to MBSR.
Psychological Medicine
July 19, 2019
J. Montero-Marín, J. García-Campayo, M. Pérez-Yus et al.
Meditation techniques that regulate attention or construct personal values are slightly more effective than relaxation therapy for reducing anxiety. A meta-analysis of 14 randomized controlled trials with 862 participants suffering from anxiety disorders or high trait anxiety found a small effect favoring meditation (Hedges' g = −0.23). The number needed to treat was 7.74. Heterogeneity among studies was low, and there was no evidence of publication bias, though few studies were of high quality and researcher allegiance may have influenced results. Meditation may remain more effective at 12-month follow-up, but more research is needed across the full range of meditation practices and anxiety disorders.
Frontiers in Psychology
January 28, 2019
M. Navarro-Haro, M. Modrego-Alarcón, H. Hoffman et al.
Both a standard mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) alone and the same MBI plus 10 minutes of Virtual Reality DBT® Mindfulness Skills training significantly reduced symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder in primary care patients, with large effect sizes. The combined treatment led to higher treatment completion: 100% of patients in the MBI+VR group finished the program versus 70% in the MBI-only group. Both groups also improved in depression, emotion regulation, mindfulness, and interoceptive awareness. The findings suggest that adding a brief VR component to MBI may improve adherence, though larger randomized controlled trials are needed.