The relation between mindfulness and the fatigue of women with breast cancer: path analysis
Kaori Ikeuchi, Hiroshi Ishiguro, Yasunori Nakamura, Tomoko Izawa, Nobuhiko Shinkura, Kazuko Nin
BioPsychoSocial Medicine February 16, 2020 DOI: 10.1186/s13030-020-0175-y (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional path analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 249 |
| Population | Breast cancer survivors visiting a breast surgery department at a university hospital in Japan for hormonal therapy or regular check-ups after treatment |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Breast cancer Fatigue Oncology Breast neoplasms Cancer survivors |
| Key findings | Mindfulness was associated with fatigue both directly and indirectly through anxiety, depression, pain, loneliness, and sleep disturbance, with mindfulness showing the strongest association (β = −.52). The authors suggest mindfulness may help reduce fatigue in breast cancer survivors and that clinicians should attend to anxiety, depression, pain, loneliness, and sleep disturbance in fatigue care. |
Abstract
Abstract Background Although fatigue is a common and distressing symptom in cancer survivors, the mechanism of fatigue is not fully understood. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relation between the fatigue and mindfulness of breast cancer survivors using anxiety, depression, pain, loneliness, and sleep disturbance as mediators.
Methods: Path analysis was performed to examine direct and indirect associations between mindfulness and fatigue. Participants were breast cancer survivors who visited a breast surgery department at a university hospital in Japan for hormonal therapy or regular check-ups after treatment. The questionnaire measured cancer-related-fatigue, mindfulness, anxiety, depression, pain, loneliness, and sleep disturbance. Demographic and clinical characteristics were collected from medical records.
Results: Two-hundred and seventy-nine breast cancer survivors were registered, of which 259 answered the questionnaire. Ten respondents with incomplete questionnaire data were excluded, resulting in 249 participants for the analyses. Our final model fit the data well (goodness of fit index = .993; adjusted goodness of fit index = .966; comparative fit index = .999; root mean square error of approximation = .016). Mindfulness, anxiety, depression, pain, loneliness, and sleep disturbance were related to fatigue, and mindfulness had the most influence on fatigue (β = − .52). Mindfulness affected fatigue not only directly but also indirectly through anxiety, depression, pain, loneliness, and sleep disturbance.
Conclusions: The study model helps to explain the process by which mindfulness affects fatigue. Our results suggest that mindfulness has both direct and indirect effects on the fatigue of breast cancer survivors and that mindfulness can be used to more effectively reduce their fatigue. It also suggests that health care professionals should be aware of factors such as anxiety, depression, pain, loneliness, and sleep disturbance in their care for fatigue of breast cancer survivors. Trial registration This study was registered in the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN number. 000027720 ) on June 12, 2017.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Effects of online mindfulness-based interventions on mental and physical health outcomes in cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Medicine March 21, 2025
- Efficacy of Mindfulness Yoga on Mood and Self-compassion of Person with Mental Illness Living in a Community as a Pilot Study Asian Journal of Social Science Studies May 18, 2023
- Effect of pranayama and mindfulness meditation on emotional distress and fatigue in adult hematological cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy Yoga Mimamsa April 3, 2024
- Effects of mindfulness-based interventions on fatigue and psychological wellbeing in women with cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised control trials. Psycho-Oncology November 2022
Cites 11
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- Web-based individual Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for cancer-related fatigue — A pilot study Internet Interventions April 6, 2015
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on breast cancer symptoms: systematic review and meta-analysis Einstein 2018
and 6 more in the library