Heart Rate Variability as a Marker of Distress and Recovery: The Effect of Brief Supportive Expressive Group Therapy With Mindfulness in Cancer Patients
HyeYoun Park, Sohee Oh, Yumi Noh, Ju Young Kim, Jeong-Hyun Kim
Integrative Cancer Therapies August 18, 2020 DOI: 10.1177/1534735418756192 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pre-post intervention study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 28 |
| Population | Female patients with nonmetastatic cancer at a university hospital in South Korea |
| Duration | 4-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | The BESTMIND program reduced distress, perceived stress, anger, and sleep disturbance and increased quality of life; increased HF power from HRV was associated with decreased anger. |
Abstract
Objectives. We aimed to investigate the effects of brief supportive expressive group therapy with mindfulness for cancer patients and to assess the utility of heart rate variability (HRV) as a biomarker of distress and treatment effect. Methods. A total of 28 female patients with nonmetastatic cancer at a university hospital in South Korea received a 4-week modified group therapy for distress reduction. The BESTMIND (Brief Expression and Support Therapy with Mindfulness) program consisted of supportive–expressive group therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction. The subjective outcomes of distress, anger, sleep quality, and sense of well-being and the physiological outcome of HRV were assessed before and after the program. Results. After the program, patients showed significantly reduced distress, perceived stress, anger, and sleep disturbance and increased quality of life. No significant change was observed in the degree of mindfulness. A significantly increased SD in the normal beat-to-beat intervals and normalized high-frequency (HF 0.15-0.4 Hz) power from spectral analysis were observed after treatment. According to the correlation analyses, HF power correlated with depression scores, and normalized HF power was associated with depression, anxiety, perceived stress, and anger at baseline. The pretreatment and posttreatment comparison indicated that an increase in HF power was associated with a decrease in anger. Conclusions. These results suggest the effectiveness of this modified group-based program for distress reduction and also provide preliminary evidence for the use of HRV as a biomarker of distress and recovery. HF power from HRV variables may serve as a quantitative biomarker of the treatment response of distress management, including anger.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- The Impact of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Objective Physiological Measures of Autonomic Function for Individuals With Medical Conditions: A Review of the Evidence. Psychosomatic Medicine 2024
- Heart Rate Variability and Perceived Stress in Teacher Training: Facing the Reality Shock With Mindfulness? Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health 2023
- The Comparative Effect of Reduced Mindfulness-Based Stress on Heart Rate Variability among Patients with Breast Cancer. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health May 27, 2022
Cites 6
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- 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
- Mindfulness-based stress reduction and cancer: a meta-analysis. Psycho-Oncology June 2009
- A brief mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention for nurses and nurse aides. Applied nursing research : ANR May 2006
- Validation of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale in a cancer population. Journal of Psychosomatic Research January 2005
and 1 more in the library