Meditation or exercise for preventing acute respiratory infection: a randomized controlled trial.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to evaluate whether mindfulness meditation could prevent acute respiratory infection (ARI) illness by reducing incidence, duration, and severity compared to exercise or no intervention.
Results Summary
Mindfulness meditation significantly reduced global illness severity and days of missed work compared to the control group, with trends toward reduced illness duration. Exercise also showed benefits, though less pronounced than meditation.
Population
Adults aged 50+ (82% female, 94% white, mean age 59.3 ± 6.6 years).
Effective Dosage
8-week mindfulness meditation training (specific frequency not detailed).
Duration
8 weeks.
Interactions
None mentioned.
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mindfulness meditation | decrease | global severity | community-recruited adults aged 50 years and older | - | significantly lower | #1 |
mindfulness meditation | decrease | total days of illness (duration) | community-recruited adults aged 50 years and older | - | trended toward being lower | #2 |
mindfulness meditation | decrease | ARI-related days of-work missed | community-recruited adults aged 50 years and older | 16 | reduced | #3 |
moderate-intensity sustained exercise | decrease | global severity | community-recruited adults aged 50 years and older | - | trended toward being lower | #4 |
moderate-intensity sustained exercise | decrease | total days of illness (duration) | community-recruited adults aged 50 years and older | - | trended toward being lower | #5 |
moderate-intensity sustained exercise | decrease | ARI-related days of-work missed | community-recruited adults aged 50 years and older | 32 | reduced | #6 |
mindfulness meditation | no change | health care visits | community-recruited adults aged 50 years and older | - | did not differ significantly | #7 |
moderate-intensity sustained exercise | no change | health care visits | community-recruited adults aged 50 years and older | - | did not differ significantly | #8 |
mindfulness meditation | no change | neutrophil count | community-recruited adults aged 50 years and older | - | were similar | #9 |
moderate-intensity sustained exercise | no change | neutrophil count | community-recruited adults aged 50 years and older | - | were similar | #10 |
mindfulness meditation | no change | interleukin-8 levels | community-recruited adults aged 50 years and older | - | were similar | #11 |
moderate-intensity sustained exercise | no change | interleukin-8 levels | community-recruited adults aged 50 years and older | - | were similar | #12 |
PURPOSE: This study was designed to evaluate potential preventive effects of meditation or exercise on incidence, duration, and severity of acute respiratory infection (ARI) illness. METHODS: Community-recruited adults aged 50 years and older were randomized to 1 of 3 study groups: 8-week training in mindfulness meditation, matched 8-week training in moderate-intensity sustained exercise, or observational control. The primary outcome was area-under-the-curve global illness severity during a single cold and influenza season, using the Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey (WURSS-24) to assess severity. Health care visits and days of missed work were counted. Nasal wash collected during ARI illness was assayed for neutrophils, interleukin-8, and viral nucleic acid. RESULTS: Of 154 adults randomized into the study, 149 completed the trial (82% female, 94% white, mean age 59.3 ± 6.6 years). There were 27 ARI episodes and 257 days of ARI illness in the meditation group (n = 51), 26 episodes and 241 illness days in the exercise group (n = 47), and 40 episodes and 453 days in the control group (n = 51). Mean global severity was 144 for meditation, 248 for exercise, and 358 for control. Compared with control, global severity was significantly lower for meditation (P = .004). Both global severity and total days of illness (duration) trended toward being lower for the exercise group (P=.16 and P=.032, respectively), as did illness duration for the meditation group (P=.034). Adjusting for covariates using zero-inflated multivariate regression models gave similar results. There were 67 ARI-related days of-work missed in the control group, 32 in the exercise group (P = .041), and 16 in the meditation group (P <.001). Health care visits did not differ significantly. Viruses were identified in 54% of samples from meditation, 42% from exercise, and 54% from control groups. Neutrophil count and interleukin-8 levels were similar among intervention groups. CONCLUSIONS: Training in meditation or exercise may be effective in reducing ARI illness burden.