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Meditation and Cognitive Outcomes: A Longitudinal Analysis Using Data From the Health and Retirement Study 2000-2016.

Snehal Lopes, Lu Shi, Xi Pan, Yian Gu, Christine Dengler-Crish, Yan Li, Biplav Tiwari, Donglan Zhang

Mindfulness July 1, 2023 DOI: 10.1007/s12671-023-02165-w (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Observational cohort Randomized Longitudinal Preregistered Peer reviewed
Sample size 1,160
Population Middle-aged and older adults from the Health and Retirement Study
Intervention Meditation
Duration 16-year follow-up (2000-2016)
Topics Meditation
Keywords Aging Cognition
Citations 5
Key findings Frequent meditation was associated with improved recall and global cognitive function over time only among participants without baseline depressive symptoms.

Abstract

We aimed to assess the association between meditation practice and cognitive function over time among middle-aged and older adults. We included Health and Retirement Study (HRS) participants assessed for meditation practice in the year 2000 as part of the HRS alternative medicine module (n = 1,160) and were followed up for outcomes over 2000-2016 period. We examined the association between meditation ≥ twice a week vs none/less frequent practice and changes in the outcomes of recall, global cognitive function, and quantitative reasoning using generalized linear regression models. Stratified analyses among persons with/without self-reported baseline depressive symptoms were conducted to assess the link between meditation and cognitive outcomes. Among our full study sample, meditation ≥ twice a week was not significantly associated with total recall [β; 95% CI: -0.97, 0.57; p = 0.61], global cognitive function [β; 95% CI: -1.01, 1.12; p = 0.92], and quantitative reasoning [β; 95% CI: -31.27, 8.32; p = 0.26]. However, among those who did not have self-reported depressive symptoms at baseline, meditation ≥ twice a week was associated with improvement in cognitive outcomes such as total recall [β; 95% CI: 0.03, 0.18; p = 0.01] and global cognitive function [β; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.40; p = 0.01] over time. Frequent meditation practice might have a protective effect on cognitive outcomes over time, but this protection could be limited to those without self-reported baseline depressive symptoms. Future studies could incorporate more precise meditation practice assessment, investigate the effect of meditation on cognitive outcomes over time, and include more rigorous study designs with randomized group assignment. This study is not preregistered.

Comparable studies

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

Study Year Design Participants
Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students 2006 Observational cohort
Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia 1992 Observational cohort n = 22
Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls 2005 Observational cohort n = 20
Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls 2011 Observational cohort
Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls 2004 Observational cohort

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