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Mindfulness Meditation as Adjunctive Therapy to Improve the Glycemic Care and Quality of Life in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes.

Rishi Shukla, Manisha Gupta, Neha Agarwal, Anurag Bajpai

Medical Sciences May 21, 2021 DOI: 10.3390/medsci9020033 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed
Sample size 32
Population Adults with type 1 diabetes (15 males, 46.9%; mean age 23.8 ± 6.6 years; mean diabetes duration 12.7 ± 6.2 years)
Intervention Mindfulness meditation
Duration 6 months
Topics Meditation
Keywords Mindfulness meditation Quality of life Type 1 diabetes
Key findings Both meditation and control groups showed significant reductions in mean blood glucose over six months, so the glucose improvement was not specific to meditation. Diabetes distress fell significantly only in the meditation group (1.6 to 1.3 versus no change in controls), and the meditation group improved in the health and functioning quality-of-life domain. The authors argue that mindfulness meditation plays an important role in type 1 diabetes management.

Abstract

Mindfulness Meditation (MM) is known to improve glycemic control and enhance the quality of life (QoL) in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients. Unfortunately, the role of meditation in type 1 diabetes (T1D) has not been studied extensively. Therefore, we conducted this study to determine the effect of MM on the glycemic control and QoL in people living with T1D. Thirty-two adults living with T1D were equally randomized into intervention (meditation) and control groups. The glycemic control and QoL were assessed at the baseline and after six months of intervention. A total of thirty-two adults (15 males, 46.9%; mean age 23.8 ± 6.6 years) with type 1 diabetes (mean diabetes duration 12.7 ± 6.2 years) participated in the study. At the end of six months, a statistically significant improvement was seen in the mean blood glucose level in the control group (222.4 ± 77.8 versus 182.6 ± 52.0; p = 0.007) and the intervention group (215.3 ± 50.1 versus 193.2 ± 31.8; p = 0.008). Additionally, there was a significant reduction in the total diabetes distress score in the intervention group (1.6 ± 0.3 versus 1.3 ± 0.3; p = 0.003), while no change was observed in the control group (1.6 ± 0.7 versus 1.7 ± 0.4; p = 0.762). A statistically significant improvement was noticed in the health and functioning domain in the intervention group (p = 0.023). An improvement in the glycemic control and quality of life of the patients was observed in our study. MM certainly plays an important role in attaining peace of mind and helps patients to channel their energy in a positive direction.

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

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