Meditation for posttraumatic stress: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of meditation interventions, including mindfulness-based stress reduction, yoga, and mantram repetition, as adjunctive treatments for adults diagnosed with PTSD.
Results Summary
Meditation interventions improved PTSD and depression symptoms compared to control groups, though evidence quality was low to moderate. Effects on quality of life and anxiety were positive but not statistically significant, and no studies addressed functional status. No adverse events were reported, but only half of the studies assessed safety.
Population
Adults diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
meditation interventions | decrease | PTSD symptoms | adults diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | - | improve | #1 |
meditation interventions | decrease | depression symptoms | adults diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | - | improve | #2 |
adjunctive meditation interventions of mindfulness-based stress reduction, yoga, and the mantram repetition program | decrease | PTSD symptoms | adults diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | - | improve | #3 |
adjunctive meditation interventions of mindfulness-based stress reduction, yoga, and the mantram repetition program | decrease | depression symptoms | adults diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | - | improve | #4 |
meditation interventions | increase | quality of life | adults diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | - | positive but not statistically significant | #5 |
meditation interventions | decrease | anxiety | adults diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | - | positive but not statistically significant | #6 |
meditation interventions | no change | functional status | adults diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | - | no studies addressed | #7 |
meditation interventions | no change | adverse events | adults diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | - | No adverse events were reported | #8 |
OBJECTIVE: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis that synthesized evidence from randomized controlled trials of meditation interventions to provide estimates of their efficacy and safety in treating adults diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This review was based on an established protocol (PROSPERO: CRD42015025782) and is reported according to PRISMA guidelines. Outcomes of interest included PTSD symptoms, depression, anxiety, health-related quality of life, functional status, and adverse events. METHOD: Meta-analyses were conducted using the Hartung-Knapp-Sidik-Jonkman method for random-effects models. Quality of evidence was assessed using the Grade of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. RESULTS: In total, 10 trials on meditation interventions for PTSD with 643 participants met inclusion criteria. Across interventions, adjunctive meditation interventions of mindfulness-based stress reduction, yoga, and the mantram repetition program improve PTSD and depression symptoms compared with control groups, but the findings are based on low and moderate quality of evidence. Effects were positive but not statistically significant for quality of life and anxiety, and no studies addressed functional status. The variety of meditation intervention types, the short follow-up times, and the quality of studies limited analyses. No adverse events were reported in the included studies; only half of the studies reported on safety. CONCLUSIONS: Meditation appears to be effective for PTSD and depression symptoms, but in order to increase confidence in findings, more high-quality studies are needed on meditation as adjunctive treatment with PTSD-diagnosed participant samples large enough to detect statistical differences in outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record