Mindfulness training for psychological stress in family caregivers of persons with dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Zheng Liu, Qian Lin Chen, Yuying Sun
Clinical Interventions in Aging September 1, 2017 DOI: 10.2147/cia.s146213 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Meta-analysis Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Family caregivers of people with dementia |
| Intervention | Mindfulness training |
| Duration | 8 weeks post-treatment |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 72 |
| Key findings | Across seven randomized controlled trials, mindfulness training significantly improved depression, perceived stress, and mental health-related quality of life in family caregivers of people with dementia at eight weeks post-treatment, but showed no significant benefit for caregiver burden or anxiety. The authors call for larger, more rigorous trials to confirm the findings. |
Abstract
Caring for a relative with dementia is extremely challenging; conventional interventions may not be highly effective or easily available on some occasions. This study aimed to explore the efficacy of mindfulness training in improving stress-related outcomes in family caregivers of people with dementia using a meta-analytic review. We searched randomized controlled trials (RCT) through April 2017 from five electronic databases, and assessed the risk of bias using the Cochrane Collaboration tool. Seven RCTs were included in our review. Mindfulness interventions showed significant effects of improvement in depression (standardized mean difference: -0.58, [95% CI: -0.79 to -0.37]), perceived stress (-0.33, [-0.57 to -0.10]), and mental health-related quality of life (0.38 [0.14 to 0.63]) at 8 weeks post-treatment. Pooled evidence did not show a significant advantage of mindfulness training compared with control conditions in the alleviation of caregiver burden or anxiety. Future large-scale and rigorously designed trials are needed to confirm our findings. Clinicians may consider the mindfulness program as a promising alternative to conventional interventions.
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 16
- What Mindfulness, and for Whom? And Why Might it Work? Mindfulness September 16, 2023
- A meta-analysis of mindfulness-based interventions for improving mental health and burden among caregivers of persons living with dementia. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing April 1, 2024
- Mindfulness in Persons with Mild Dementia and Their Caregivers: Exploring Trait Rumination as a Clinical Outcome Measure Mindfulness August 1, 2023
- Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of the Feasibility of a Mobile App-Delivered Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Caregiver Stress. The Gerontologist May 10, 2025
- A mindfulness-based multicomponent caregiver intervention (PAACC): objectives, study design, and cohort description. Alzheimer's & Dementia 2025
and 11 more in the library
Cites 12
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- Investigating efficacy of two brief mind–body intervention programs for managing sleep disturbance in cancer survivors: a pilot randomized controlled trial Journal of Cancer Survivorship January 21, 2013
- Randomized Controlled Trial of Inner Resources Meditation for Family Dementia Caregivers. Journal of Clinical Psychology December 2017
- Mechanisms of Mindfulness Training: Monitor and Acceptance Theory (MAT) Clinical Psychology Review November 5, 2016
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of meditative interventions for informal caregivers and health professionals. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care March 26, 2015
and 7 more in the library