Treating fibromyalgia with mindfulness-based stress reduction: results from a 3-armed randomized controlled trial.
Stefan Schmidt, Paul Grossman, Barbara Schwarzer, Susanne Jena, Johannes Naumann, Harald Walach
Pain February 2011 DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2010.10.043 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 177 |
| Population | Female patients with fibromyalgia |
| Interventions | Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) Active control procedure Wait list |
| Duration | 8-week intervention, 2-month follow-up |
| Measures | health-related quality of life (HRQoL), disorder-specific quality of life, depression, pain, anxiety, somatic complaints, mindfulness index |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | MBSR did not significantly outperform active control or wait-list on the primary outcome of HRQoL at two months post-treatment, but post hoc analyses showed significant pre-to-post improvement in HRQoL only in the MBSR group, and MBSR improved more secondary outcomes than controls. |
Abstract
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a structured 8-week group program teaching mindfulness meditation and mindful yoga exercises. MBSR aims to help participants develop nonjudgmental awareness of moment-to-moment experience. Fibromyalgia is a clinical syndrome with chronic pain, fatigue, and insomnia as major symptoms. Efficacy of MBSR for enhanced well-being of fibromyalgia patients was investigated in a 3-armed trial, which was a follow-up to an earlier quasi-randomized investigation. A total of 177 female patients were randomized to one of the following: (1) MBSR, (2) an active control procedure controlling for nonspecific effects of MBSR, or (3) a wait list. The major outcome was health-related quality of life (HRQoL) 2 months post-treatment. Secondary outcomes were disorder-specific quality of life, depression, pain, anxiety, somatic complaints, and a proposed index of mindfulness. Of the patients, 82% completed the study. There were no significant differences between groups on primary outcome, but patients overall improved in HRQoL at short-term follow-up (P=0.004). Post hoc analyses showed that only MBSR manifested a significant pre-to-post-intervention improvement in HRQoL (P=0.02). Furthermore, multivariate analysis of secondary measures indicated modest benefits for MBSR patients. MBSR yielded significant pre-to-post-intervention improvements in 6 of 8 secondary outcome variables, the active control in 3, and the wait list in 2. In conclusion, primary outcome analyses did not support the efficacy of MBSR in fibromyalgia, although patients in the MBSR arm appeared to benefit most. Effect sizes were small compared to the earlier, quasi-randomized investigation. Several methodological aspects are discussed, e.g., patient burden, treatment preference and motivation, that may provide explanations for differences. In a 3-armed randomized controlled trial in female patients suffering from fibromyalgia, patients benefited modestly from a mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 83
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- Mindfulness Interventions Annual Review of Psychology September 30, 2016
- Conceptual and methodological issues in research on mindfulness and meditation. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- The effect of mindfulness meditation on sleep quality: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences December 21, 2018
- Mindfulness starts with the body: somatosensory attention and top-down modulation of cortical alpha rhythms in mindfulness meditation Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2013
and 78 more in the library
Cites 7
- Mindfulness meditation for the treatment of chronic low back pain in older adults: A randomized controlled pilot study ☆ Pain June 4, 2007
- Mindfulness meditation alleviates depressive symptoms in women with fibromyalgia: Results of a randomized clinical trial Arthritis Care & Research January 31, 2007
- Mindfulness meditation for symptom reduction in fibromyalgia: psychophysiological correlates. Journal of clinical psychology in medical settings June 2009
- Mindfulness training as an intervention for fibromyalgia: evidence of postintervention and 3-year follow-up benefits in well-being. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 2007
- Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits. A meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research July 1, 2004
and 2 more in the library