Meditation for asthma: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Priyamvada Paudyal, Christina Jones, Caroline Grindey, Rusha Dawood, Helen Smith
The Journal of asthma : official journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma July 2018 DOI: 10.1080/02770903.2017.1365887 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review and meta-analysis Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 201 |
| Population | Adults with asthma |
| Intervention | Meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Asthma Lung function Quality of life Randomized controlled trials |
| Key findings | Pooled analysis of two trials indicated that meditation significantly improved disease-specific quality of life compared with control (SMD 0.40, 95% CI 0.05-0.76), while pooled results from all four trials showed an uncertain effect on FEV1 (SMD -0.67, 95% CI -2.17 to 0.82). Individual trials suggest meditation may reduce perceived stress and short-term rescue medication use, but the authors note that two of four studies were of poor quality and call for further trials. |
Abstract
To conduct a comprehensive review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of meditation on a variety of asthma outcomes. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO and AMED in June 2016 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effectiveness of meditation in adults with asthma. No restriction was put on language or year of publication. Study quality was assessed using The Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool. Meta-analysis was carried out using RevMan 5.3. Four RCTs involving 201 patients met the inclusion criteria. Quality of studies was inconsistent with only one study reporting adequate allocation concealment. Disease-specific quality of life was assessed in two trials; a pooled result involving 62 intervention and 65 control participants indicated a significant improvement in quality of life in the meditation group compared to the control group (SMD 0.40, 95% CI 0.05-0.76). A pooled result from all four studies indicated the uncertain effect of meditation in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) (SMD -0.67, 95% CI -2.17 to 0.82). Results from the individual trials suggest that meditation may be helpful in reducing perceived stress and the use of short-term rescue medication. Our review suggests that there is some evidence that meditation is beneficial in improving quality of life in asthma patients. As two out of four studies in our review were of poor quality, further trials with better methodological quality are needed to support or refute this finding.
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 5
- Mindfulness-based interventions: an overall review British Medical Bulletin April 21, 2021
- Clinically relevant effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in individuals with asthma Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health September 14, 2022
- Mind-body effects of mindfulness-based training in athletes: a preliminary randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychology February 19, 2026
- Meditation: Philosophical Foundations and its Role in Managing Common Noncommunicable Diseases. Indian Journal of Community Medicine February 1, 2026
- Perceived stress, resilience, well-being, and COVID 19 response in Isha yoga practitioners compared to matched controls: A research protocol. Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications May 21, 2021
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- Mindfulness meditation alleviates depressive symptoms in women with fibromyalgia: Results of a randomized clinical trial Arthritis Care & Research January 31, 2007
- Increased heart rate variability during nondirective meditation. European journal of preventive cardiology August 2012
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