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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 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.

Comparable studies

Other observational and cohort studies on PTSD, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy Using Low Doses in a Small Sample of Women with Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Women with chronic PTSD secondary to sexual assault 2008 Observational cohort n = 6
An Ambulatory Polysomnography Study of the Post-traumatic Nightmares of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment-seeking veterans, current serving military members, and emergency service... 2017 Observational study using ambulatory polysomnography n = 35
Increased Mastery Elements Associated With Imagery Rehearsal Treatment for Nightmares in Sexual Assault Survivors With PTSD. Female sexual assault survivors with chronic nightmares 2004 Observational cohort n = 44
Posttraumatic stress symptoms following near-death experiences. Persons who report near-death experiences and those who came close to death without NDEs 2001 Observational study
Impact of oral ketamine augmentation on hospital admissions in treatment-resistant depression and PTSD: a retrospective study. Outpatients with treatment-resistant depression and PTSD 2018 Retrospective review n = 37

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