The effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training on serum cortisol levels, depression, stress, and anxiety in type 2 diabetic older adults during the COVID-19 outbreak

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training lowered serum cortisol levels and reduced depression, anxiety, and stress in older adults with type 2 diabetes during the COVID-19 epidemic. In a randomized trial of 56 patients (52 completed), those who attended eight MBSR sessions showed statistically significant improvements in all measures immediately after and three months later, while the control group showed no change. The intervention can improve psychological and physiological stress markers in this population.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Old age is rapidly increasing and is linked to with chronic diseases, especially diabetes. Diabetes is associated with increased anxiety, stress, and depression and, in turn, can increase cortisol secretion. To this end, the present research studied the impact of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training on serum cortisol levels, depression, anxiety, and stress in type 2 diabetic (T2DM) older adults during the COVID-19 epidemic. The participants in this interventional work were 56 older adult patients with type 2 diabetes chosen through systematic random sampling and then randomly divided into control and intervention groups containing equal members. In the intervention group, the participants attended eight mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training sessions. The subjects in the control group received no intervention. Since four patients left the study, only data for 52 patients were collected using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) and a demographic and disease information questionnaire. Data were examined with SPSS18 software using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, chi-square test, Fisher test, independent samples t-test, and two-way ANOVA; the significance was p<0.05. Statistically significant differences were observed between the mean scores of anxiety, stress, depression, and cortisol levels in the intervention group (p<0.00001) before, directly after, and three months after the intervention. However, no statistically significant difference was observed in the mentioned variables in the control group. The mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention can improve anxiety, depression, stress, and cortisol levels in older adults suffering from T2DM.