Enhanced Psychosocial Well-Being Following Participation in a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program Is Associated with Increased Natural Killer Cell Activity

Abstract

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs have consistently been shown to enhance the psychosocial well-being of participants. Given the well-established association between psychosocial factors and immunologic functioning, it has been hypothesized that enhanced psychosocial well-being among MBSR participants would be associated with corresponding changes in markers of immune activity. Objective To examine changes in psychosocial and immunologic measures in a heterogeneous patient sample following participation in a MBSR program. Design A single-group, pre-test post-test design was utilized. Setting The intervention was conducted at an academic health center. Subjects This pilot study involved twenty-four participants (aged 28–72 years). Inclusion criteria were: ≥18 years of age, English-speaking, no known autoimmune disorder. Intervention The intervention was an 8-week MBSR program. Outcome Measures Distress and quality of life (QOL) measures included the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 and the Medical Outcomes Survey (MOS) Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), respectively. Immunologic measures included natural killer (NK) cell cytolytic activity and C-reactive protein (CRP). Results Patients completed psychosocial assessments and provided a blood sample at baseline (pre-MBSR) and within 2 weeks post-MBSR. Significant improvements in anxiety and overall distress as well as across multiple domains of QOL were observed from baseline to post-MBSR. Reductions in anxiety and overall distress were associated with reductions in CRP. Patients who reported improvement in overall mental well-being also showed increased NK cytolytic activity from pre- to post-MBSR, whereas patients who reported no improvement in mental well-being showed no change in NK cytolytic activity. Conclusion Positive improvement in psychological well-being following MBSR was associated with increased NK cytolytic activity and decreased levels of CRP.

An Interprofessional Palliative Care Oncology Rehabilitation Program: Effects on Function and Predictors of Program Completion

“…Inflammation, as indicated by elevated crp, promotes incapacity and suffering; compared with patients having a normal crp, those with an elevated reading are likely to experience more rapid tumour progression 42 . Although the exercise and psychosocial components of our rehabilitation program might contribute to the reduction of crp levels [43][44][45] , patients with high serum crp might find it more difficult to complete the program because they are usually more ill.…”

Sitting and silent meditation as a strategy to study emotion regulation.

“…For longer interventions such as 8 weeks, there has been evidence for a reduction in negative affect (Davidson et al, 2003;Jha, Stanley, Kiyonaga, Wong, & Gelfand, 2010;Schroevers & Brandsma, 2010) and reductions in anxiety (Chiesa & Serretti, 2009;Davidson et al, 2003;Fang et al, 2010;Farb et al, 2010;Goldin & Gross, 2010), depression (Farb et al, 2010;Goldin & Gross, 2010), and stress scores (Chiesa & Serretti, 2009;Fang et al, 2010;Shapiro, Oman, Thoresen, Plante, & Flinders, 2008). Along the same lines, interventions lasting 3 months similarly demonstrated more positive psychological functioning such as reduced stress, anxiety and difficulty in emotion regulation (Jacobs et al, 2011;Sahdra et al, 2011).…”

Evaluation of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention Program to Decrease Blood Pressure in Low-Income African-American Older Adults

“…Using a heterogeneous patient sample, investigators found that patients who participated in an 8-week MBSR program showed significant improvements in the inflammatory marker, C-reactive protein (CRP), as well as anxiety and overall distress post-intervention. 11 Furthermore, research has demonstrated that meditation practice counters the effect of physiologic stress responses by decreasing respiratory rates, total peripheral vascular resistance, and cortisol, the prototypical biological indicator of stress and aging. 12 All of these effects led us to hypothesize that MBSR might lower blood pressure in low-income, older African-American adults.…”