Adverse events in meditation practices and meditation-based therapies: a systematic review.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to systematically review meditation adverse events (MAEs) to investigate their major clinical categories and prevalence.
Results Summary
The study found that 8.3% of participants experienced adverse events, with anxiety, depression, and cognitive anomalies being the most common. Adverse events occurred in individuals with no prior history of mental health problems.
Population
Adult samples across experimental, observational, and case studies (total 6703 participants).
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
meditation practices | increase | adverse events | adult samples | 65% of studies | reports of at least one type of MAE | #1 |
meditation practices | increase | adverse events | 6703 participants | 8.3% | total prevalence | #2 |
meditation practices | increase | adverse events | experimental studies | 3.7% | prevalence | #3 |
meditation practices | increase | adverse events | observational studies | 33.2% | prevalence | #4 |
meditation practices | increase | anxiety | - | 33% | most common | #5 |
meditation practices | increase | depression | - | 27% | most common | #6 |
meditation practices | increase | cognitive anomalies | - | 25% | most common | #7 |
meditation practices | increase | gastrointestinal problems | - | 11% | least frequent | #8 |
meditation practices | increase | suicidal behaviours | - | 11% | least frequent | #9 |
meditation practices | increase | adverse events | individuals with no previous history of mental health problems | not uncommon | occurrence | #10 |
OBJECTIVE: Meditation techniques are widely used as therapy and wellbeing practices, but there are growing concerns about its potential for harm. The aim of the present study is to systematically review meditation adverse events (MAEs), investigating its major clinical categories and its prevalence. METHOD: We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, Embase and AMED up to October 2019. Eligible studies included original reports of meditation practices (excluding related physical practices such as Yoga postures) with adult samples across experimental, observational and case studies. We identified a total of 6742 citations, 83 of which met the inclusion criteria for MAEs with a total of 6703 participants who undertook meditation practice. RESULTS: Of the 83 studies analysed, 55 (65%) included reports of at least one type of MAE. The total prevalence of adverse events was 8.3% (95% CI 0.05-0.12), though this varied considerably across types of studies - 3.7% (95% CI 0.02-0.05) for experimental and 33.2% (95% CI 0.25-0.41) for observational studies. The most common AEs were anxiety (33%, 18), depression (27%, 15) and cognitive anomalies (25%, 14); gastrointestinal problems and suicidal behaviours (both 11%, 6) were the least frequent. CONCLUSION: We found that the occurrence of AEs during or after meditation practices is not uncommon, and may occur in individuals with no previous history of mental health problems. These results are relevant both for practitioners and clinicians, and contribute to a balanced perspective of meditation as a practice that may lead to both positive and negative outcomes.