Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Treating Chronic Pain A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Juhong Pei, Tong Ma, Rui-Lin Nan, Haixia Chen, Yabin Zhang, Lin Gou, Xinman Dou
Psychology, Health & Medicine November 26, 2020 DOI: 10.1080/13548506.2020.1849746 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review and meta-analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 433 |
| Population | Patients with chronic pain (chronic low back pain, fibromyalgia, migraine, rheumatoid arthritis, and mixed etiology) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | MBCT showed short-term improvement in depressed mood and mindfulness in chronic pain patients, but no significant effects on pain intensity, pain interference, or pain acceptance. |
Abstract
ABSTRACT Chronic pain is a significant public health problem with emotional and disabling factors, which may not completely respond to current medical treatments such as opioids. The systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the effectiveness and safety of MBCT for patients with chronic pain. Database searches of PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus and CINAHL up to 15 October 2019. Included studies assessed with the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. Eight RCTs involved 433 patients, including chronic low back pain, fibromyalgia, migraine, rheumatoid arthritis and mix etiology. MBCT intervention demonstrated a short-term improvement on depression mood [standardized mean difference −0.72; 95% confidence interval = −1.22 to −0.22, p = 0.005] compared with usual care and was associated with short-term improvement in mindfulness compared with non-MBCT [SMD 0.51; 95% CI = 0.01 to 1.01, p = 0.04]. Between-group differences in pain intensity, pain inference and pain acceptance were not significant at short- or long-term follow-up. Compared to active treatments, MBCT intervention not found significant differences in either short- or long-term outcomes. MBCT showed short-term efficacious on depressed mood and mindfulness of chronic pain patients. Longer follow-ups, large sample and rigorous RCTs that can be best understand remaining uncertainties needed.
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
Cited by 29
- Research in Mindfulness Interventions for Patients With Fibromyalgia: A Critical Review. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience July 28, 2022
- Differentiating mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavior therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy clinically: the why, how, and what of evidence-based practice. Frontiers in Psychology 2024
- A Systematic Review on the State of the Art of Culturally Adapted Mindfulness-Based Interventions for First Nations Peoples: Cultural Adaptation, Effectiveness, and Feasibility Mindfulness September 1, 2024
- Which type and dosage of mindfulness-based interventions are most effective for chronic pain? A systematic review and network meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research April 1, 2025
- Oxytocin Modulation in Mindfulness-Based Pain Management for Chronic Pain. Life February 15, 2024
and 24 more in the library
Cites 7
- Effect of Mindfulness‐Based stress reduction in rheumatoid arthritis patients Arthritis Care & Research September 28, 2007
- A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Mindfulness Meditation, Cognitive Therapy, and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Chronic Low Back Pain Pain Medicine November 1, 2019
- A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study on Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Unipolar Depression in Patients With Chronic Pain. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 2018
- Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Annals of Behavioral Medicine September 22, 2016
- Acceptance- and mindfulness-based interventions for the treatment of chronic pain: a meta-analytic review Cognitive Behaviour Therapy January 2, 2016
and 2 more in the library