Effects of mindfulness exercises as stand-alone intervention on symptoms of anxiety and depression: Systematic review and meta-analysis.


Author: Blanck P1, Perleth S2, Heidenreich T3, Kröger P2, Ditzen B4, Bents H2, Mander J5

Affiliation: <sup>1</sup>Center for Psychological Psychotherapy, University of Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: paul.blanck@zpp.uni-hd.de.

<sup>2</sup>Center for Psychological Psychotherapy, University of Heidelberg, Germany.

<sup>3</sup>Department for Social Work, Health and Care, University of Applied Sciences Esslingen, Germany.

<sup>4</sup>Institute of Medical Psychology, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany.

<sup>5</sup>Center for Psychological Psychotherapy, University of Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: johannes.mander@zpp.uni-hd.de.
Conference/Journal: Behav Res Ther.
Date published: 2017 Dec 20
Other:
 Volume ID: 102   ,  Pages: 25-35   ,  Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2017.12.002. [Epub ahead of print]   ,  Word Count: 162  
    Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are currently well established in psychotherapy with meta-analyses demonstrating their efficacy. In these multifaceted interventions, the concrete performance of mindfulness exercises is typically integrated in a larger therapeutic framework. Thus, it is unclear whether stand-alone mindfulness exercises (SAMs) without such a framework are beneficial, as well. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis regarding the effects of SAMs on symptoms of anxiety and depression. Systematic searching of electronic databases resulted in 18 eligible studies (n = 1150) for meta-analyses. After exclusion of one outlier SAMs had small to medium effects on anxiety (SMD = 0.39; CI: 0.22, 0.56; PI: 0.07, 0.70; p < .001, I2 = 18.90%) and on depression (SMD = 0.41; CI: 0.19, 0.64; PI: -0.05, 0.88; p < .001; I2 = 33.43%), when compared with controls. Summary effect estimates decreased, but remained significant when corrected for potential publication bias. This is the first meta-analysis to show that the mere, regular performance of mindfulness exercises is beneficial, even without being integrated in larger therapeutic frameworks.



KEYWORDS: Anxiety; Depression; Meta-analysis; Mindfulness; Stand-alone intervention



PMID: 29291584  DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2017.12.002