The Effect of Meditation-Based Interventions on Patients with Fatigue Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Florence Requier, Harriet Demnitz-King, Tim Whitfield, Olga Klimecki, Natalie L. Marchant, Fabienne Collette
Psychologica Belgica 2023 DOI: 10.5334/pb.1182 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review with meta-analysis Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | People with pathological conditions (68% cancer) |
| Intervention | meditation-based interventions |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Compassion Fatigue Meta-analysis Non-pharmacological intervention Systematic review |
| Citations | 12 |
| Key findings | Meditation-based interventions reduce pathological fatigue compared to control groups, with a larger effect when compared to passive controls (g = 0.83) than active controls. |
Abstract
Persistent fatigue constitutes a prevalent and debilitating symptom in several diseases. The symptom is not effectively alleviated by pharmaceutical treatments, and meditation has been proposed as a non-pharmacological intervention. Indeed, meditation has been shown to reduce inflammatory/immune problems, pain, stress, anxiety and depression which are associated with pathological fatigue. This review synthesizes data from randomized control trials (RCTs) that explored the effect of meditation-based interventions (MeBIs) on fatigue in pathological conditions. Eight databases were searched from inception to April 2020. Thirty-four RCTs met eligibility criteria and covered six conditions (68% cancer), 32 of which were included in the meta-analysis. The main analysis showed an effect in favor of MeBIs compared to control groups (g = 0.62). Separate moderator analyses assessing control group, pathological condition, and MeBI type, highlighted a significantly moderating role of the control group. Indeed, compared to actively controlled studies, studies using a passive control group were associated with a statistically significantly more beneficial impact of the MeBIs (g = 0.83). These results indicate that MeBIs alleviate pathological fatigue and it seems that the studies with a passive control group showed a greater effect of MeBI on the reduction of fatigue compared to studies using active control groups. However, the specific effect of meditation type and pathological condition should be analyzed with more studies, and there remains a need to assess meditation effects on different types of fatigue (i.e., physical and mental) and in additional conditions (e.g., post-COVID-19).
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 27
- A Randomized, Wait-List Controlled Clinical Trial: The Effect of a Mindfulness Meditation-Based Stress Reduction Program on Mood and Symptoms of Stress in Cancer Outpatients Psychosomatic Medicine September 1, 2000
- Loving-kindness and compassion meditation: potential for psychological interventions. Clinical Psychology Review July 26, 2011
- Effects of Brief and Sham Mindfulness Meditation on Mood and Cardiovascular Variables The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine July 28, 2010
- Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) improves long-term mental fatigue after stroke or traumatic brain injury Brain Injury July 13, 2012
- The Effect of Mindfulness-based Programs on Cognitive Function in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Neuropsychology Review August 4, 2021
and 22 more in the library