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Cost-effectiveness of Transcendental Meditation (TM) for treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

PloS one
May 5, 2025
Erik J Groessl et al. (2 authors)
Journal ArticleRandomized Controlled TrialHuman StudyClinical
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to examine the cost-effectiveness of Transcendental Meditation (TM) compared to Prolonged Exposure (PE) and PTSD health education (HE) for veterans with PTSD.

Results Summary

TM was non-inferior to PE and superior to HE in improving PTSD outcomes, with 61% of TM participants showing clinically significant improvement. TM was also the most cost-effective treatment, reducing total costs over a 5-year horizon.

Population

203 veterans with PTSD.

Effective Dosage

12 treatment sessions over 12 weeks.

Duration

12 weeks.

Interactions

None mentioned.

Extracted Claims (12)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
Transcendental Meditation (TM)
decrease
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
veterans
-
was an effective non-trauma focused treatment
#1
Transcendental Meditation (TM)
increase
PTSD outcomes
veterans with PTSD
-
was non-inferior to Prolonged Exposure (PE) for improving
#2
Transcendental Meditation (TM)
increase
PTSD outcomes
veterans with PTSD
-
was superior to PTSD health education (HE) for improving
#3
Prolonged Exposure (PE)
increase
PTSD outcomes
veterans with PTSD
-
was superior to PTSD health education (HE) for improving
#4
Transcendental Meditation (TM)
increase
CAPS (≥10 point reduction)
veterans with PTSD
61%
proportion of participants with a clinically significant improvement
#5
Prolonged Exposure (PE)
increase
CAPS (≥10 point reduction)
veterans with PTSD
42%
proportion of participants with a clinically significant improvement
#6
PTSD health education (HE)
increase
CAPS (≥10 point reduction)
veterans with PTSD
32%
proportion of participants with a clinically significant improvement
#7
Transcendental Meditation (TM)
increase
cost-effectiveness
veterans with PTSD
-
was the dominant treatment strategy over both PE and HE
#8
Transcendental Meditation (TM)
neutral
12 sessions
-
$1504
cost
#9
Prolonged Exposure (PE)
neutral
12 sessions
-
$2,822
cost
#10
PTSD health education (HE)
neutral
12 sessions
-
$492
cost
#11
Transcendental Meditation (TM)
increase
health outcomes and total costs
veterans with PTSD
-
was found to both improve health outcomes and reduce total costs
#12
Abstract

OBJECTIVE: A recent trial found that Transcendental Meditation (TM) was an effective non-trauma focused treatment for veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The objective of this analysis was to examine the cost-effectiveness of TM for PTSD based on the trial results. METHODS: Between 2013-2017, 203 veterans with PTSD were randomized to either TM, Prolonged Exposure (PE), or to a PTSD health education (HE) control. Each group received 12 treatment sessions over 12 weeks. Results indicated that TM was non-inferior to PE for improving PTSD outcomes and both TM and PE were superior to HE, as hypothesized. The proportion of participants with a clinically significant improvement on the CAPS (≥10 point reduction) were TM = 61%, PE = 42%, and HE = 32%. A Markov model was developed to estimate the cost-effectiveness of TM, using the trial effectiveness data. Intervention costs, health care costs, and health utility values associated with response and non-response were derived from scientific literature. Costs were viewed from an organizational perspective and a 5-year time horizon (20 3-month cycles). One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted. RESULTS: TM was the dominant treatment strategy over both PE and HE in the cost-effectiveness analysis. TM cost an estimated $1504/12 sessions while PE and HE cost $2,822 and $492, respectively. The higher health care costs associated with non-response to therapy offset intervention cost differences. Findings were robust to variability. CONCLUSION: In summary, using data from a recent RCT, TM was found to both improve health outcomes and reduce total costs in this analysis. Based on these results, further effectiveness trials and wider adoption of TM should be considered.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Stress Disorders, Post-TraumaticHumansMeditationCost-Benefit AnalysisVeteransMaleFemaleMiddle AgedTreatment OutcomeHealth Care CostsAdultMarkov Chains
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy85/10
Quality90/10
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.05
Weight Score2.80
Normalized Score0.72
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