Brief Mindfulness Meditation for Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis: A Pilot Feasibility Study.
Zoë Thomas, Márta Novák, Susanna Gabriela Torres Platas, Maryse Gautier, Angela Potes Holgin, Rebecca Fox, Marilyn Segal, Karl Looper, Mark L. Lipman, Steven Selchen, István Mucsi, Nathan Herrmann, Soham Rej
Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN December 7, 2017 DOI: 10.2215/cjn.03900417 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 41 |
| Population | Patients undergoing hemodialysis with symptoms of depression and/or anxiety |
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation |
| Dose | 10-15 minutes, three times a week |
| Duration | 8-week intervention |
| Measures | Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) |
| Topics | Anxiety Depression Meditation |
| Keywords | Anxiety disorders Surveys and questionnaires Renal dialysis |
| Key findings | Mindfulness meditation delivered chairside during hemodialysis appeared feasible and well tolerated, but the trial did not show statistically significant effects on depression or anxiety scores. Depression scores fell by 3.0 points on the PHQ-9 in the intervention group versus 2.0 in controls, and anxiety scores fell by 0.9 versus 0.8 on the GAD-7. |
Abstract
Up to 50% of patients undergoing hemodialysis suffer from symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. Access to traditional pharmacotherapies and psychotherapies for depression or anxiety in this patient population has been inadequate. The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of brief mindfulness meditation intervention for patients on hemodialysis with depression and anxiety symptoms. This study was a randomized, controlled, assessor-blinded trial conducted in an urban hemodialysis unit. Forty-one patients were randomly assigned to intervention (n=21) and treatment-as-usual (n=20) groups. The intervention group received an 8-week individual chairside meditation intervention lasting 10-15 minutes, three times a week during hemodialysis. Feasibility outcomes were primarily assessed: enrollment rates, intervention completion rates, and intervention tolerability. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7). Of those deemed eligible for the study, 67% enrolled (41 of 61). Of the participants randomized to the intervention group, 71% completed the study, with meditation being well tolerated (median rating of 8 of 10 in a Likert scale; interquartile range=10-5 of 10). Barriers to intervention delivery included frequent hemodialysis shift changes, interruptions by staff or alarms, space constraints, fluctuating participant medical status, and participant fatigue. Meditation was associated with subjective benefits but no statistically significant effect on depression scores (change in PHQ-9, -3.0±3.9 in the intervention group versus -2.0±4.7 in controls; P=0.45) or anxiety scores (change in GAD-7, -0.9±4.6 versus -0.8±4.8; P=0.91). On the basis of the results of this study, mindfulness meditation appears to be feasible and well tolerated in patients on hemodialysis with anxiety and depression symptoms. The study did not reveal significant effects of the interventions on depression and anxiety scores. This article contains a podcast at https://www.asn-online.org/media/podcast/CJASN/2017_10_12_CJASNPodcast_17_12_.mp3.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on anxiety, most cited first.
Citations in the library
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- Brief Mindfulness Intervention vs. Health Enhancement Program for Patients Undergoing Dialysis: A Randomized Controlled Trial Healthcare June 1, 2021
- The impact of mindfulness meditation on pro-inflammatory biomarkers in patients with end-stage renal disease: A randomized trial SAGE Open Medicine 2024
- Examining the acceptability and feasibility of the Compassionate Mindful Resilience (CMR) programme in adults living with chronic kidney disease: the COSMIC study findings. BMC nephrology January 31, 2024
- Feasibility of the Hemomindful Program: a mindfulness-based program performed during hemodialysis. Jornal brasileiro de nefrologia 2025
and 9 more in the library
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- The Effect of Breathing, Movement, and Meditation on Psychological and Physical Symptoms and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Inflammatory bowel diseases December 2015
and 3 more in the library