This study was designed to determine the effectiveness ofa group stress reduction program based on mindfulness meditation for patients with anxiety disorders. Method: The 22 study participants were screened with a structured clinical interview and found to meet the DSM-IH-R criteria for generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia. Assessments, including self-ratings and therapists' ratings, were obtained weekly bef ore and during the meditation-based stress reduction and relaxation program and monthly during the 3-month follow-up period. Results: Repeated measures analyses ofvariance documented significant reductions in anxiety and depression scores after treatment for 20 of the subjects-changes that were maintained at follow-up. The number of subjects experiencing panic symptoms was also substantially reduced. A comparison of the study subjects with a group ofnonstudy participants in the program who met the initial screening criteria for entry into the study showed that both groups achieved similiar reductions in anxiety scores on the SCL-90-R and on the Medical Symptom Checklist, suggesting generalizability of the study f indings. Conclusions: A group mindfulness meditation training program can effectively reduce symptoms ofanxiety and panic and can help maintain these reductions in patients with generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, or panic disorder with agoraphobia.

The aim of this study was determine the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based stress-reduction (MBSR) program on quality of life (QOL) and psychosocial outcomes in women with early-stage breast cancer, using a three-arm randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT). This RCT consisting of 172 women, aged 20–65 with stage I or II breast cancer consisted of the 8-week MBSR, which was compared to a nutrition education program (NEP) and usual supportive care (UC). Follow-up was performed at three post-intervention points: 4 months, 1, and 2 years. Standardized, validated self-administered questionnaires were adopted to assess psychosocial variables. Statistical analysis included descriptive and regression analyses incorporating both intention-to-treat and post hoc multivariable approaches of the 163 women with complete data at baseline, those who were randomized to MBSR experienced a significant improvement in the primary measures of QOL and coping outcomes compared to the NEP, UC, or both, including the spirituality subscale of the FACT-B as well as dealing with illness scale increases in active behavioral coping and active cognitive coping. Secondary outcome improvements resulting in significant between-group contrasts favoring the MBSR group at 4 months included meaningfulness, depression, paranoid ideation, hostility, anxiety, unhappiness, and emotional control. Results tended to decline at 12 months and even more at 24 months, though at all times, they were as robust in women with lower expectation of effect as in those with higher expectation. The MBSR intervention appears to benefit psychosocial adjustment in cancer patients, over and above the effects of usual care or a credible control condition. The universality of effects across levels of expectation indicates a potential to utilize this stress reduction approach as complementary therapy in oncologic practice.

This prospective study confirms the chronicity associated with GAD and extends this finding to define the one and two year remission rates for the disorder. Likelihood of remission for GAD and any other comorbid condition after one year was half the annual remission rate for GAD alone.

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