The effects of mindfulness‐based stress reduction on depression, anxiety, and stress in older adults: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract

Mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) has been widely used to improve various physical and mental conditions. Studies show the intervention is particularly effective in alleviating depression, anxiety, and stress in working‐aged adults. No recent systematic review has focused on the use of MBSR in older adults. This study aims to examine the effects of MBSR intervention on depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms of older adults. Five electronic databases were searched for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published between 1990 and 2017. Six eligible studies were included and computed for meta‐analysis. The methodological quality and risk of biases across the included RCTs were assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool. Overall, the amount of evidence is limited and of relatively low quality. The results of this review provide evidence that the MBSR is more effective than wait‐list‐control group to reduce depression in older adults with clinically significant symptoms immediately following the intervention. However, there is no clear evidence that the intervention reduced the perception of stress and anxiety, or that positive effects are maintained over the longer term. More robust studies involving larger sample sizes and using longer follow‐up measurements are required.

Effects of an Ultra-brief Online Mindfulness-based Intervention on Mental Health during the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak in Malaysia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Furthermore, previous experience of mindfulness practice was a significant protective factor against distress, anxiety, psychological insecurity, and well-being at baseline. These findings corroborate the overwhelming meta-analytic evidence of the benefits of mindfulness training against various mental health problems across the lifespan (Borquist-Conlon et al, 2019;Li & Bressington, 2019).…”

Mindfulness-based programmes for mental health promotion in adults in nonclinical settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

“…Trials assessing MBPs in nonclinical settings have quickly accumulated in recent years. Systematic reviews have synthesised findings from MBPs from educators [11,12], parents [13], caregivers [14,15], healthcare professionals [16][17][18][19][20][21], athletes [22], working adults [23][24][25][26][27], older adults [28], university students [29][30][31], and the general population [32][33][34][35][36], primarily focusing on wellness and mental health outcomes. Most, but by no means all results favour MBPs over comparison conditions.…”

Mindfulness therapies on health professionals

“…It is therefore very difficult to carry out randomization and blinding processes similar to those usual in studies of other interventions. Other reviews of mindfulness‐based interventions report generally unclear risk of bias (Li & Bressington ) even though they do not evaluate the seven domains measured by the tool (Zimmermann, Burrell & Jordan ). For an adequate assessment of the risk of bias, it would be necessary in our opinion to develop an extension or modification of the Cochrane Collaborations' risk of bias assessment tool that is better suited to this type of non‐pharmacological interventions.…”

“…Non-pharmacological interventions that have been shown to be effective in reducing stress in different populations include mindfulness-based interventions (Goyal et al 2014;Li & Bressington 2019;Zimmermann et al 2018). Mindfulness is a concept adapted from the Buddhist tradition and can be cultivated through a variety of meditation practices (Duarte & Pinto-Gouveia, 2016).…”