Reductions in cortisol associated with primary care brief mindfulness program for veterans with PTSD.
Dessa Bergen-Cico, Kyle Possemato, Wilfred R Pigeon
Medical Care December 1, 2014 DOI: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000224 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 40 |
| Population | Veterans with PTSD referred through VA primary care |
| Intervention | Primary Care brief Mindfulness Program (PCbMP) |
| Duration | 4-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation PTSD |
| Key findings | Veterans completing four mindfulness sessions had significantly reduced cortisol awakening response and altered cortisol area under the curve compared with treatment as usual. |
Abstract
Patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have significant medical morbidity, which may be mediated by hypothalamic pituitary axis (HPA) dysfunction and reflected in cortisol output. Many veterans with PTSD are hesitant to engage in trauma-focused exposure treatments; therefore briefer, non-exposure-based treatments are needed; one such promising approach is an abbreviated Primary Care brief Mindfulness Program (PCbMP). This study investigated the relationship between dose-response to participation in a veterans PCbMP program and diurnal cortisol. Cortisol reflects HPA function and PTSD is associated with HPA dysregulation. Veterans with PTSD were identified in PC and randomly assigned to treatment as usual (TAU, n=21) or participation in brief 4-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program (n=19). Veterans (n=40) (mean age, 48±16 y; 90% men) with PTSD referred through their VA PC provider and randomly assigned to PCbMP or TAU. As an objective indicator of HPA function, salivary diurnal cortisol was measured from samples collected across 2 consecutive days at baseline and follow-up. Analyses revealed that significant changes in cortisol were associated with PCbMP treatment engagement and dosing (number of mindfulness program sessions completed). Veterans completing 4 mindfulness-based meditation sessions significantly reduced their cortisol awakening response (P≤0.05); and had significant changes in cortisol area under the curve increase compared with TAU participants (P≤0.05). Results indicate that PCbMP has a beneficial physiological impact on veterans with PTSD with a minimum of 4 weeks of practice.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on PTSD, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 29
- The Role of Mindfulness in Reducing the Adverse Effects of Childhood Stress and Trauma Children February 28, 2017
- Efficacy of 8- and 4-Session Mindfulness-Based Interventions in a Non-clinical Population: A Controlled Study Frontiers in Psychology August 8, 2017
- Effect of a mindfulness program on stress, anxiety, depression, sleep quality, social support, and life satisfaction: a quasi-experimental study in college students. Frontiers in Psychology 2025
- Serotonin Transporter (SLC6A4) and FK506-Binding Protein 5 (FKBP5) Genotype and Methylation Relationships with Response to Meditation in Veterans with PTSD. Molecular Neurobiology November 1, 2024
- Primary care brief mindfulness training for veterans with psychological distress: Protocol for a hybrid type I effectiveness-implementation randomized controlled trial. Contemporary Clinical Trials August 1, 2026
and 24 more in the library
Cites 8
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- Meditation research, past, present, and future: perspectives from the Nalanda contemplative science tradition. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 2014
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- Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density Psychiatry Research November 10, 2010
- Mindfulness meditation associated with alterations in bottom-up processing: psychophysiological evidence for reduced reactivity. International Journal of Psychophysiology November 2010
and 3 more in the library