Older adults with mild to moderate depression who completed an 8-week mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) program showed significant improvements in autobiographical memory specificity, rumination, and mindfulness, while an active control group (physical exercise plus health education) did not. Both groups experienced reduced depressive symptoms. The study involved 57 participants with an average age of 70 years. These results support the theory that MBCT targets cognitive mechanisms underlying depression in older adults.
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is effective for treating generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). A meta-analysis of six studies comparing MBCT to control conditions found a moderate-to-large overall effect size of -0.65, indicating significant improvement in anxiety symptoms. The analysis included randomized controlled trials and clinical trials up to November 2018, with study quality assessed using the revised Jadad scale (mean score 4.3). All but one study showed that MBCT significantly improved treatment outcomes for GAD compared to controls.