Spiritually Based Interventions for High Blood Pressure: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Roghayeh Khabiri, Leila Jahangiry, Mehdi Abbasian, Fatollah Majidi, Mahdieh Abbasalizad Farhangi, Homayoun Sadeghi-Bazargani, Koen Ponnet
Journal of Religion and Health October 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-024-02034-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review and meta-analysis Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 24 |
| Population | Adults (≥ 18 years) with high blood pressure |
| Interventions | meditation transcendental meditation mindfulness meditation yoga |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Blood pressure Spiritually based intervention Yoga |
| Citations | 6 |
| Key findings | Spiritually based interventions significantly reduced both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in adults. |
Abstract
This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of spiritually based interventions on blood pressure (BP) among adults. A systematic search was performed using the PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane databases to identify studies evaluating spiritual interventions, including meditation, transcendental meditation, mindfulness meditation, and yoga, for high BP among adults up to January 1, 2022. The inclusion criteria were (a) randomized controlled trials (RCTs), (b) studies in English or Persian, (c) studies conducted among adults (≥ 18 years), and (d) studies reporting systolic or diastolic BP. Given the high heterogeneity of these studies, a random effect model was used to calculate the effect sizes for the RCTs. In total, the systematic review included 24 studies and the meta-analysis included 23 studies. As some of studies reported two or more outcome measurements, separate estimates of each outcome were extracted for that study (24 datasets). Fifteen trials reported the mean (SD) systolic blood pressure (SBP), and 13 trials reported the mean (SD) diastolic blood pressure (DBP). In addition, 13 studies reported means (SDs) and six trials reported mean changes in DBP. A significant decrease was found in systolic BP following intervention ((WMD (weighted mean difference) = - 7.63 [- 9.61 to - 5.65; P < 0.001]). We observed significant heterogeneity among the studies (I2 = 96.9; P < 0.001). A significant decrease was observed in DBP following the interventions (WMD = - 4.75 [- 6.45 to - 3.05; P < 0.001]). Spiritually based interventions including meditation and yoga had beneficial effects in reducing both SBP and DBP. Reducing BP can be expected to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being Diverse adult clinical populations | 2014 | Meta-analysis | n = 3,515 |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Stress Management in Healthy People: A Review and Meta-Analysis Healthy subjects | 2009 | Systematic review and meta-analysis | |
| The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Nonclinical groups of adult meditators | 2012 | Meta-analysis | n = 163 |
| Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse Adults with recurrent depression in full or partial remission | 2016 | Meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomized controlled trials | n = 1,258 |
| Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy – a systematic review of randomized controlled trials | 2011 | Systematic review |
Citations in the library
Cites 15
- Transcendental Meditation, mindfulness, and longevity: An experimental study with the elderly. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1989
- Effects of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Transcendental Meditation on Components of the Metabolic Syndrome in Subjects With Coronary Heart Disease Archives of Internal Medicine June 12, 2006
- Blood Pressure Response to Transcendental Meditation: A Meta-analysis American Journal of Hypertension February 29, 2008
- Lower Lipid Peroxide Levels in Practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation[registered sign] Program Psychosomatic Medicine 1998
- Insufficient evidence to conclude whether or not Transcendental Meditation decreases blood pressure Journal of Hypertension October 12, 2004
and 10 more in the library