Dataset Information

Prevalence of harm in mindfulness-based stress reduction.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Mindfulness meditation has become a common method for reducing stress, stress-related psychopathology and some physical symptoms. As mindfulness programs become ubiquitous, concerns have been raised about their unknown potential for harm. We estimate multiple indices of harm following Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on two primary outcomes: global psychological and physical symptoms. In secondary analyses, we estimate multiple indices of harm on anxiety and depressive symptoms, discomfort in interpersonal relations, paranoid ideation and psychoticism.

Methods

Intent-to-treat analyses with multiple imputations for missing data were used on pre- and post-test data from a large, observational dataset (n = 2155) of community health clinic MBSR classes and from MBSR (n = 156) and waitlist control (n = 118) participants from three randomized controlled trials conducted contemporaneous to community classes in the same city by the same health clinic MBSR teachers. We estimate the change in symptoms, proportion of participants with increased symptoms, proportion of participants reporting greater than a 35% increase in symptoms, and for global psychological symptoms, clinically significant harm.

Results

We find no evidence that MBSR leads to higher rates of harm relative to waitlist control on any primary or secondary outcome. On many indices of harm across multiple outcomes, community MBSR was significantly preventative of harm.

Conclusions

Engagement in MBSR is not predictive of increased rates of harm relative to no treatment. Rather, MBSR may be protective against multiple indices of harm. Research characterizing the relatively small proportion of MBSR participants that experience harm remains important.

SUBMITTER: Hirshberg MJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7889774 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Prevalence of harm in mindfulness-based stress reduction.

Hirshberg Matthew J MJ Goldberg Simon B SB Rosenkranz Melissa M Davidson Richard J RJ

Psychological medicine 20200818 6

<h4>Background</h4>Mindfulness meditation has become a common method for reducing stress, stress-related psychopathology and some physical symptoms. As mindfulness programs become ubiquitous, concerns have been raised about their unknown potential for harm. We estimate multiple indices of harm following Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on two primary outcomes: global psychological and physical symptoms. In secondary analyses, we estimate multiple indices of harm on anxiety and depressiv ...[more]

PMID: 32807249

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Burnout is highly prevalent in residents. No randomized controlled trials have been conducted measuring the effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on burnout in residents. OBJECTIVE:To determine the effectiveness of MBSR in reducing burnout in residents. DESIGN:A randomized controlled trial comparing MBSR with a waitlist control group. PARTICIPANTS:Residents from all medical, surgical and primary care disciplines were eligible to participate. Participants were self-referred. INTERVENTION:The MBSR consisted of eight weekly 2.5-h sessions and one 6-h silent day. MAIN MEASURES:The primary outcome was the emotional exhaustion subscale of the Dutch version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Service Survey. Secondary outcomes included the depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment subscales of burnout, worry, work-home interference, mindfulness skills, self-compassion, positive mental health, empathy and medical errors. Assessment took place at baseline and post-intervention approximately 3 months later. KEY RESULTS:Of the 148 residents participating, 138 (93%) completed the post-intervention assessment. No significant difference in emotional exhaustion was found between the two groups. However, the MBSR group reported significantly greater improvements than the control group in personal accomplishment (p = 0.028, d = 0.24), worry (p = 0.036, d = 0.23), mindfulness skills (p = 0.010, d = 0.33), self-compassion (p = 0.010, d = 0.35) and perspective-taking (empathy) (p = 0.025, d = 0.33). No effects were found for the other measures. Exploratory moderation analysis showed that the intervention outcome was moderated by baseline severity of emotional exhaustion; those with greater emotional exhaustion did seem to benefit. CONCLUSIONS:The results of our primary outcome analysis did not support the effectiveness of MBSR for reducing emotional exhaustion in residents. However, residents with high baseline levels of emotional exhaustion did appear to benefit from MBSR. Furthermore, they demonstrated modest improvements in personal accomplishment, worry, mindfulness skills, self-compassion and perspective-taking. More research is needed to confirm these results.

Project description:BackgroundIn 2017, the American College of Physicians (ACP) designated Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), an eight-week group program, as first-line non-pharmacological treatment for chronic low back pain. However, interprofessional collaboration between mindfulness instructors and Primary Care Providers (PCP) remains largely unknown.ObjectiveWe developed a survey to assess communication between mindfulness instructors and PCPs, identify predictors of referral to MBSR, and determine areas where interventions could increase patient access to MBSR.MethodsThe 25-question survey was sent via email to PCPs at the Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, PA, the Piedmont Health Services Family Medicine Section, Chapel Hill, NC, the Boston Medical Center General Internal Medicine and Family Medicine Sections, Boston, MA, and the UMass Memorial Medical Center Family Medicine Section, Worcester, MA. We used descriptive statistics and logistic regression to analyze the data.ResultsAmong 118 eligible respondents, 85 (72.0%) were female PCPs, mean age was approximately 41.5±10.1, and the majority (65.2%) had been in medical practice ≤10 years. Of these PCPs, 83 (70.1%) reported familiarity with MBSR (95% CI: 62.1, 78.5), and 49 (59.0%) of them referred patients at least yearly. Of those who referred, 8 (16.3%) reported collaboration with mindfulness instructors. PCPs who were quite a bit or very much familiar with MBSR had 5.10 (1.10, 22.50) times the odds (P=.03), and those who were 50 years or younger had 3.30 times the odds (P=.04) of referring patients to MBSR. Frequency of PCPs' personal practice of mindfulness was not significantly associated with referrals (P=.30).ConclusionThis is the first study to assess interprofessional collaboration between mindfulness instructors and PCPs. Suggestions for a potential integrative health care model are included; further studies on methods to augment communication and education are warranted to improve the referral process and ultimately increase accessibility and utilization of mindfulness-based programs.

Project description:ObjectiveEvidence links depression and stress to more rapid progression of HIV-1 disease. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to test whether an intervention aimed at improving stress management and emotion regulation, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), would improve immunological (i.e. CD4+ T-cell counts) and psychological outcomes in persons with HIV-1 infection.MethodsWe randomly assigned participants with HIV-1 infection and CD4 T-cell counts >350 cells/μl who were not on antiretroviral therapy in a 1:1 ratio to either an MBSR group (n = 89) or an HIV disease self-management skills group (n = 88). The study was conducted at the University of California at San Francisco. We assessed immunologic (CD4, c-reactive protein, IL-6, and d-dimer) and psychological measures (Beck Depression Inventory for depression, modified Differential Emotions Scale for positive and negative affect, Perceived stress-scale, and mindfulness) at 3, 6 and 12 months after initiation of the intervention; we used multiple imputation to address missing values.ResultsWe observed statistically significant improvements from baseline to 3-months within the MBSR group in depression, positive and negative affect, perceived stress, and mindfulness; between group differences in change were significantly greater in the MBSR group only for positive affect (per item difference on DES-positive 0.25, 95% CI 0.049, 0.44, p = .015). By 12 months the between group difference in positive affect was not statistically significant, although both groups had trends toward improvements compared to baseline in several psychological outcomes that were maintained at 12-months; these improvements were only statistically significant for depression and negative affect in the MBSR group and perceived stress for the control group. The groups did not differ significantly on rates of antiretroviral therapy initiation (MBSR = 39%, control = 29%, p = .22). After 12 months, the mean decrease in CD4+ T-cell count was 49.6 cells/μl in participants in the MBSR arm, compared to 54.2 cells/μl in the control group, a difference of 4.6 cells favoring the MBSR group (95% CI, -44.6, 53.7, p = .85). The between group differences in other immunologic-related outcomes (c-reactive protein, IL-6, HIV-1 viral load, and d-dimer) were not statistically significant at any time point.ConclusionsMBSR improved positive affect more than an active control arm in the 3 months following the start of the intervention. However, this difference was not maintained over the 12-month follow-up and there were no significant differences in immunologic outcomes between intervention groups. These results emphasize the need for further carefully designed research if we are to translate evidence linking psychological states to immunological outcomes into evidence-based clinical practices.

Dataset Information

Prevalence of harm in mindfulness-based stress reduction.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Prevalence of harm in mindfulness-based stress reduction.

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