Felipe A Jain1, Roger N Walsh2, Stuart J Eisendrath3, Scott Christensen4, B Rael Cahn5. 1. Department of Psychiatry, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA (FAJ, SC). Electronic address: fjain@mednet.ucla.edu. 2. Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Irvine, CA (RNW). 3. Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA (SJE). 4. Department of Psychiatry, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA (FAJ, SC). 5. Department of Psychiatry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (BRC); Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (BRC).
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Recently, the application of meditative practices to the treatment of depressive disorders has met with increasing clinical and scientific interest, owing to a lower side-effect burden, potential reduction of polypharmacy, and theoretical considerations that such interventions may target some of the cognitive roots of depression. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the state of the evidence supporting this application. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials of techniques meeting the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality definition of meditation, for participants having clinically diagnosed depressive disorders, not currently in remission, were selected. Meditation therapies were separated into praxis (i.e., how they were applied) components, and trial outcomes were reviewed. RESULTS: 18 studies meeting the inclusion criteria were identified, encompassing 7 distinct techniques and 1173 patients. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy comprised the largest proportion of studies. Studies including patients having acute major depressive episodes (n = 10 studies), and those with residual subacute clinical symptoms despite initial treatment (n = 8), demonstrated moderate to large reductions in depression symptoms within the group, and relative to control groups. There was significant heterogeneity of techniques and trial designs. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial body of evidence indicates that meditation therapies may have salutary effects on patients having clinical depressive disorders during the acute and subacute phases of treatment. Owing to methodologic deficiencies and trial heterogeneity, large-scale, randomized controlled trials with well-described comparator interventions and measures of expectation are needed to clarify the role of meditation in the depression treatment armamentarium.
BACKGROUND: Recently, the application of meditative practices to the treatment of depressive disorders has met with increasing clinical and scientific interest, owing to a lower side-effect burden, potential reduction of polypharmacy, and theoretical considerations that such interventions may target some of the cognitive roots of depression. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the state of the evidence supporting this application. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials of techniques meeting the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality definition of meditation, for participants having clinically diagnosed depressive disorders, not currently in remission, were selected. Meditation therapies were separated into praxis (i.e., how they were applied) components, and trial outcomes were reviewed. RESULTS: 18 studies meeting the inclusion criteria were identified, encompassing 7 distinct techniques and 1173 patients. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy comprised the largest proportion of studies. Studies including patients having acute major depressive episodes (n = 10 studies), and those with residual subacute clinical symptoms despite initial treatment (n = 8), demonstrated moderate to large reductions in depression symptoms within the group, and relative to control groups. There was significant heterogeneity of techniques and trial designs. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial body of evidence indicates that meditation therapies may have salutary effects on patients having clinical depressive disorders during the acute and subacute phases of treatment. Owing to methodologic deficiencies and trial heterogeneity, large-scale, randomized controlled trials with well-described comparator interventions and measures of expectation are needed to clarify the role of meditation in the depression treatment armamentarium.
Authors: Madhukar H Trivedi; A John Rush; Stephen R Wisniewski; Andrew A Nierenberg; Diane Warden; Louise Ritz; Grayson Norquist; Robert H Howland; Barry Lebowitz; Patrick J McGrath; Kathy Shores-Wilson; Melanie M Biggs; G K Balasubramani; Maurizio Fava Journal: Am J Psychiatry Date: 2006-01 Impact factor: 18.112
Authors: Helen Lavretsky; Lily L Alstein; Richard E Olmstead; Linda M Ercoli; Marquertie Riparetti-Brown; Natalie St Cyr; Michael R Irwin Journal: Am J Geriatr Psychiatry Date: 2011-10 Impact factor: 4.105
Authors: Adam C Alexander; Joseph J C Waring; Emily T Hébert; Chaelin Karen Ra; Neal Rangu; Darla E Kendzor; Michael S Businelle Journal: Psychol Addict Behav Date: 2021-02
Authors: Sudha Prathikanti; Renee Rivera; Ashly Cochran; Jose Gabriel Tungol; Nima Fayazmanesh; Eva Weinmann Journal: PLoS One Date: 2017-03-16 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Kenji Sanada; Marta Alda Díez; Montserrat Salas Valero; María C Pérez-Yus; Marcelo M P Demarzo; Jesús Montero-Marín; Mauro García-Toro; Javier García-Campayo Journal: BMC Complement Altern Med Date: 2017-02-23 Impact factor: 3.659
Authors: Jessica Smith; Jill M Newby; Nicole Burston; Michael J Murphy; Sarah Michael; Anna Mackenzie; Felicity Kiln; Siobhan A Loughnan; Kathleen A O'Moore; Benjamin J Allard; Alishia D Williams; Gavin Andrews Journal: Internet Interv Date: 2017-05-18
Authors: Felipe A Jain; Colm G Connolly; Leonardo C Moore; Andrew F Leuchter; Michelle Abrams; Ramzi W Ben-Yelles; Sarah E Chang; Liliana A Ramirez Gomez; Nora Huey; Helen Lavretsky; Marco Iacoboni Journal: Front Hum Neurosci Date: 2019-05-14 Impact factor: 3.473
Authors: Sonsoles Alonso Martínez; Jan-Bernard C Marsman; Morten L Kringelbach; Gustavo Deco; Gert J Ter Horst Journal: Neuroimage Clin Date: 2020-05-26 Impact factor: 4.881