Associations between mindfulness and symptom severity among adults living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Tania T Von Visger, Kayla Wardlaw, Chin-Shang Li, Yu-Ping Chang, Lea Ann Matura
Heart & Lung 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.hrtlng.2024.12.002 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 339 |
| Population | Community-dwelling adults with COPD |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Copd management Mindfulness knowledge Mindfulness practice Mindfulness-based intervention Symptom severity |
| Citations | 6 |
| Key findings | Community-dwelling adults with COPD who practiced mindfulness reported lower symptom severity than those who did not, particularly in dyspnea and fatigue. |
Abstract
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) benefit adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by helping them manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life. Little is known about their baseline mindfulness knowledge and practice and how these may relate to symptom management. To 1) compare symptom severity scores of depression, anxiety, dyspnea, fatigue, and insomnia between those who know and practice mindfulness and those who do not, and 2) construct phenotype profile characteristics of COPD patients based on their levels of mindfulness. 339 community-dwelling adults (mean age 53.43±13.48 years, 61.28 % male, and 48.21 % White) completed an online cross-sectional survey study indicating their mindfulness knowledge, practice, level, and COPD symptom severity. After adjusting for multiple comparisons among the three groups, we used Kruskal-Wallis, Fisher's exact, and Chi-squared tests to compare variables' differences among these three mindfulness levels. Participants who self-identified as knowledgeable about mindfulness (n = 315) reported significantly lower severity of dyspnea and fatigue. Participants who self-identified as current practitioners of mindfulness (n = 282) reported substantially lower symptom severity. Among the different mindfulness groups, levels of phenotype profile analysis showed statistically significant differences in demographic and clinical characteristics, including depressive symptoms, age, ethnicity, education level, and years living with COPD. We found no differences in gender or disease severity levels. Community-dwelling adults with COPD who practiced mindfulness reported lower symptom severity than those who did not. This suggests the potential benefits of MBI integration as a complementary health approach to symptom management. The mindfulness level phenotype profile is critical to tailoring MBIs. It can guide the design and delivery of MBIs with optimal feasibility, acceptability, effectiveness, and sustained adherence for adults with COPD according to their mindfulness level profiles.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Chronic Pulmonary Diseases: A Systematic Review of Effects on Anxiety, Depression, Stress, Dyspnea, and Quality of Life Bioengineering August 29, 2025
- Mindfulness knowledge and practice in patients with cardiopulmonary conditions: A qualitative thematic analysis of adults living with pulmonary hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease✰. Heart & Lung February 12, 2026
Cites 9
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- A systematic review of the neurophysiology of mindfulness on EEG oscillations Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 2015
- The effect of mindfulness meditation on sleep quality: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences December 21, 2018
- A randomized controlled pilot trial of classroom-based mindfulness meditation compared to an active control condition in sixth-grade children. Journal of school psychology June 1, 2014
and 4 more in the library