Effects of meditation on health promoting protective factors of persons with cardiovascular disease-a quasi-experimental pilot study with pre-post comparison.
Katharina Weiss, Christian Mahnkopf, Niko Kohls
Cardiovascular diagnosis and therapy August 31, 2024 DOI: 10.21037/cdt-24-74 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Controlled nonrandomized longitudinal pilot intervention study Pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 29 |
| Population | Individuals with cardiovascular disease |
| Intervention | Metta meditation |
| Duration | 12-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Loving-kindness meditation lkm Cardiovascular disease Resilience Self-compassion Sense of coherence |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | Metta meditation did not strengthen sense of coherence, resilience, or self-compassion in individuals with cardiovascular disease, but it significantly reduced perceived stress and improved stress coping skills. |
Abstract
The aim of this pilot study is to determine, in the context of a controlled intervention study, whether the health-promoting personal protective factors of sense of coherence, resilience, and self-compassion are strengthened by the practice of Metta meditation in individuals with cardiovascular disease. The interactions between mind and body play a pivotal role in health and mortality. Lifestyle factors and especially stress also play a decisive role in the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases. With health-promoting personal protective factors, which can be actively formed over the entire lifespan, stressors can be managed more adequately. Data collection will be conducted as part of a controlled nonrandomized longitudinal pilot intervention study that will enrol individuals with cardiovascular disease (n=29). After the first interview, a 12-week Metta meditation course will start for the intervention group (IG) (n=9), while the control group (CG) (n=20) will receive no intervention. The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure® Questionnaire (MLHFQ), the 13-item Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-13), the Resilience Scale, the Self-Compassion Scale short form (SCS-sf) German version, the German version of the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and the Stress Coping subscale of the Stress and Coping Inventory (SCI) are used at both measurement time (MT) points. In addition, blood pressure parameters are collected. Furthermore, selected literature will be consulted to integrate the evaluated data into existing research findings. The health-promoting personal competencies of sense of coherence, resilience, and self-compassion were not strengthened by the practice of Metta meditation in individuals with cardiovascular disease. However, there was a significant reduction in perceived stress {F[1, 27] =4.351, P=0.047, f=0.402} and improved stress coping skills {F[1, 26] =6.790, P=0.02, f=0.511} in the IG. Furthermore, the frequency of rehospitalization {F[1, 27] =5.607, P=0.03, f=0.456} differed significantly in the pre-post comparison. Due to the insufficient size of the sample, the results are only exploratory in nature and should therefore only be considered preliminary. Also, the correlations between the significant changes in the parameters and Metta meditation cannot be finally assessed. For this purpose, further studies with larger samples are needed.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |
Citations in the library
Cites 7
- Effect of kindness-based meditation on health and well-being: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology June 30, 2014
- Increased gray matter volume in the right angular and posterior parahippocampal gyri in loving-kindness meditators Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience July 18, 2012
- Effects of Loving-Kindness Meditation on Doctors’ Mindfulness, Empathy, and Communication Skills International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health April 12, 2021
- Common and distinct lateralised patterns of neural coupling during focused attention, open monitoring and loving kindness meditation Scientific Reports 2020
- A Randomized Trial of 21 Days of Loving Kindness Meditation for Stress Reduction and Emotional Well-being Within an Online Health Community for Patients, Family, and Friends Experiencing a Cancer Health Journey. Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine February 1, 2022
and 2 more in the library