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Effect of an 18-month meditation training on cardiovascular risk in older adults: a secondary analysis of the Age-Well randomized controlled trial.

BMC geriatrics
November 16, 2024
Antoine Garnier-Crussard et al. (13 authors)
Journal ArticleRandomized Controlled TrialHuman StudyClinical
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to investigate the effects of an 18-month meditation-based intervention on cardiovascular health in older adults, focusing on changes in the Framingham Risk Score and other cardiovascular/metabolic risk factors.

Results Summary

The study found no overall improvement in cardiovascular health (Framingham Risk Score) after 18 months of meditation training. However, a subgroup analysis showed that meditation was associated with a greater reduction in diastolic blood pressure among participants with intermediate to high cardiovascular risk at baseline.

Population

Community-dwelling cognitively unimpaired adults aged 65 years and older in France.

Effective Dosage

Not specified

Duration

18 months

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (2)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
18-month meditation-based intervention
no change
overall cardiovascular health
older adults
-
was not effective to increase
#1
meditation training
decrease
diastolic blood pressure
participants with intermediate to high cardiovascular risk (FRS > 10%) at baseline
-
was associated with a greater reduction in
#2
Abstract

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular risk factors represent an important health issue in older adults. Previous findings suggest that meditation training could have a positive impact on these risk factors. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of an 18-month meditation-based intervention on cardiovascular health. METHODS: Age-Well was a randomized, controlled superiority trial with blinded end point assessment, including community-dwelling cognitively unimpaired adults 65 years and older enrolled between November 24, 2016, and March 5, 2018, in France. One hundred and thirty-four participants were included in this secondary analysis. Participants were randomly affected to an intervention group that received an 18-month meditation-based program or to comparison groups (active control group i.e. non-native language training or passive control group i.e. no intervention). The main outcome was change in the Framingham Risk Score (FRS); other outcomes were changes in cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors. RESULTS: There was no difference in FRS change after 18 months between trial arms (p = .38). When assessing individual cardiovascular or metabolic risk factors, meditation training was associated with a greater reduction in diastolic blood pressure than the comparison group in participants with intermediate to high cardiovascular risk (FRS > 10%) at baseline (p = .03). CONCLUSION: An 18-month meditation training was not effective to increase overall cardiovascular health in older adults, but improved diastolic blood pressure in a subgroup analysis including at-risk participants. These results suggest a potential benefit of a long-term meditation intervention in older adults at-risk of cardiovascular diseases, and highlights the need for future research in more targeted populations. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02977819.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
HumansAgedMaleMeditationFemaleCardiovascular DiseasesHeart Disease Risk FactorsAged, 80 and overIndependent Living
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy65/10
Quality85/10
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.05
Weight Score2.53
Normalized Score0.63
Related Supplements
Effect of an 18-month meditation training on cardiovascular ... | Panacea Index