Mindfulness Is Associated with Lower Depression, Anxiety, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Higher Quality of Life in Patients with an Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator-A Cross-Sectional Study.
Marc Dörner, Roland Von Känel, Noelle König, Aju P Pazhenkottil, Rahel Altwegg, Ladina Nager, Veronica Attanasio, Lisa Guth, Sina Zirngast, Anna Menzi, Claudia Zuccarella-Hackl, Mary Princip
Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) May 30, 2024 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare12111118 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Prospective cohort study Cross-sectional Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 422 |
| Population | Patients with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) |
| Topics | Anxiety Depression Meditation PTSD |
| Keywords | Implantable cardioverter–defibrillator Mental health Quality of life |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key findings | Higher dispositional mindfulness scores were associated with lower levels of anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms in ICD patients, and mindfulness partially mediated the relationship between these psychological distress measures and quality of life. |
Abstract
Several studies suggested the efficacy of dispositional mindfulness and mindfulness-based interventions in reducing anxiety and depression in cardiovascular diseases. However, data on the impact of mindfulness on the psychological well-being of patients with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) are scarce. In this study, 422 patients with an ICD were prospectively recruited. Logistic regression was applied to determine associations between dispositional mindfulness (Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-8), anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (Post-Traumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale), adjusting for age, sex, educational status, number of ICD shocks after ICD implantation, and physical activity. The PROCESS regression path analysis modelling tool was used to identify indirect mediating effects of dispositional mindfulness on depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms and quality of life (QoL; EuroQol group 5-dimension questionnaire). Participants presented high baseline QoL (mean 1.06 to 1.72) and medium-high mindfulness scores (mean 40.85 points). Higher mindfulness scores were associated with lower levels of anxiety (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.86 to 0.95, 0.001), depression (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.88 to 0.98, p = 0.006), and PTSD symptoms (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.89 to 0.98, p = 0.011). Furthermore, greater mindfulness partially mediated the relationship between anxiety (indirect effect 0.10, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.21), depression (indirect effect 0.08, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.17), or PTSD (indirect effect 0.04, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.17) as independent variables and the QoL as the dependent variable. This study suggests that greater dispositional mindfulness is associated with less anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms. Mindfulness might also increase the QoL in ICD patients by mitigating the impact of those with psychological distress.