Mindfulness-based stress reduction can alleviate cancer- related fatigue: A meta-analysis.
Congyan Xie, B. Dong, Lihong Wang, Xiu-Chen Jing, Yin Wu, Lu Lin, Li Tian
Journal of Psychosomatic Research December 27, 2019 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2019.109916 (opens in new tab) via Semantic Scholar
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA meta-analysis of 14 randomized controlled trials involving 3,008 cancer patients found that mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) significantly reduces cancer-related fatigue, especially in lung cancer patients. An 8-week, expert-supervised MBSR program had a large effect on fatigue compared with usual care or no intervention. MBSR is an effective complementary therapy for managing cancer-related fatigue.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Systematic review and meta-analysis Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 3,008 |
| Population | Cancer patients |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-based stress reduction |
| Duration | 8 weeks |
| Keywords | Medicine Psychology |
| Key finding | Mindfulness-based stress reduction significantly reduces cancer-related fatigue, particularly in lung cancer patients. |
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The purpose of this meta-analysis was to critically evaluate the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on cancer-related fatigue (CRF). METHODS A systematic search of eight databases (Web of Science, Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Spring link, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, CBM) was performed, to find randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from inception to January 2019. Using Cochrane Collaboration criteria, two reviewers critically and independently assessed the risk of bias and extracted correlated data using the designed form. All analyses were performed with Review Manager 5.3. RESULTS In all, fifteen RCTs were included in the systematic review, fourteen of which, consisting of 3008 patients (MBSR, 1502; control, 1506), were included in the meta-analysis. MBSR had a significant effect on fatigue in cancer patients, particularly among lung cancer patients. The meta-analysis also indicated that MBSR could significantly mitigate CRF compared with usual care or no intervention. 8 weeks of MBSR, supervised by experts, had a large effect on CRF. CONCLUSIONS MBSR is effective for CRF management and can be recommended as a beneficial complementary therapy for CRF patients.