Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being

A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Bibliographic Data

ID23379902
AuthorsMadhav Goyal (0000-0002-1561-254X, Johns Hopkins University, corresponding author), Sonal Singh (0000-0003-0535-4046, Johns Hopkins University), Erica M S Sibinga (Department of Pediatrics, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland), Erica Sibinga (Johns Hopkins University), Neda F Gould (0000-0002-2976-6128, Johns Hopkins University), Anastasia Rowland-Seymour (0000-0002-1500-0316, Johns Hopkins University), Ritu Sharma (0000-0002-5948-9213, Johns Hopkins University), Zackary Berger (0000-0002-5871-0342, Johns Hopkins University), Dana Sleicher (Johns Hopkins University), David D Maron (Johns Hopkins University), Hasan M Shihab (Johns Hopkins University), Padmini D Ranasinghe (0000-0003-0224-3850, Johns Hopkins University), Shauna Linn (Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland), Shauna T Linn (Johns Hopkins University), Shonali Saha (Johns Hopkins University), Eric B Bass (0000-0001-9106-527X, Johns Hopkins University), Jennifer A Haythornthwaite (0000-0002-5924-7580, Johns Hopkins University)
Year2014
Volume174
Issue3
Pages357
Publication date2014-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJAMA Internal Medicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2168-6106 • E-ISSN: 2168-6114
PublisherAmerican Medical Association (AMA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.13018
PMID24395196
PMCIDPMC4142584
OpenAlexW2084605964
LanguageEN
Citations received240
References cited13

IMPORTANCE: Many people meditate to reduce psychological stress and stress-related health problems. To counsel people appropriately, clinicians need to know what the evidence says about the health benefits of meditation. OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of meditation programs in improving stress-related outcomes (anxiety, depression, stress/distress, positive mood, mental health-related quality of life, attention, substance use, eating habits, sleep, pain, and weight) in diverse adult clinical populations. EVIDENCE REVIEW: We identified randomized clinical trials with active controls for placebo effects through November 2012 from MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, PsycArticles, Scopus, CINAHL, AMED, the Cochrane Library, and hand searches. Two independent reviewers screened citations and extracted data. We graded the strength of evidence using 4 domains (risk of bias, precision, directness, and consistency) and determined the magnitude and direction of effect by calculating the relative difference between groups in change from baseline. When possible, we conducted meta-analyses using standardized mean differences to obtain aggregate estimates of effect size with 95% confidence intervals. FINDINGS: After reviewing 18 753 citations, we included 47 trials with 3515 participants. Mindfulness meditation programs had moderate evidence of improved anxiety (effect size, 0.38 [95% CI, 0.12-0.64] at 8 weeks and 0.22 [0.02-0.43] at 3-6 months), depression (0.30 [0.00-0.59] at 8 weeks and 0.23 [0.05-0.42] at 3-6 months), and pain (0.33 [0.03- 0.62]) and low evidence of improved stress/distress and mental health-related quality of life. We found low evidence of no effect or insufficient evidence of any effect of meditation programs on positive mood, attention, substance use, eating habits, sleep, and weight. We found no evidence that meditation programs were better than any active treatment (ie, drugs, exercise, and other behavioral therapies). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Clinicians should be aware that meditation programs can result in small to moderate reductions of multiple negative dimensions of psychological stress. Thus, clinicians should be prepared to talk with their patients about the role that a meditation program could have in addressing psychological stress. Stronger study designs are needed to determine the effects of meditation programs in improving the positive dimensions of mental health and stress-related behavior.

Alternative medicine · Anxiety · CINAHL · Cochrane Library · Meditation · MEDLINE · Mental health · Meta-analysis · Mindfulness · Mood · Physical therapy · Placebo · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · PsycINFO · Randomized controlled trial · Strictly standardized mean difference · Biofield Effects and Biophysics · Clinical Psychology · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology