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. 2022 Jan 22;19(3):1244.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031244.

Systematic Review for the Medical Applications of Meditation in Randomized Controlled Trials

Do-Young Kim  1 , Soo-Hwa Hong  1 , Seung-Hyeon Jang  1 , So-Hyeon Park  1 , Jung-Hee Noh  1 , Jung-Mi Seok  1 , Hyun-Jeong Jo  1 , Chang-Gue Son  2 , Eun-Jung Lee  3
Affiliations

Systematic Review for the Medical Applications of Meditation in Randomized Controlled Trials

Do-Young Kim et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Meditation has been increasingly adapted for healthy populations and participants with diseases. Its beneficial effects are still challenging to determine due to the heterogeneity and methodological obstacles regarding medical applications. This study aimed to integrate the features of therapeutic meditation in randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of RCTs with meditation for populations with diseases using the PubMed database through June 2021. We analyzed the characteristics of the diseases/disorders, participants, measurements, and their overall benefits.

Results: Among a total of 4855 references, 104 RCTs were determined and mainly applied mindfulness-based (51 RCTs), yoga-based (32 RCTs), and transcendental meditation (14 RCTs) to 10,139 patient-participants. These RCTs were conducted for participants with a total of 45 kinds of disorders; the most frequent being cancer, followed by musculoskeletal and connective tissue diseases and affective mood disorder. Seven symptoms or signs were frequently assessed: depressive mood, feeling anxious, quality of life, stress, sleep, pain, and fatigue. The RCTs showed a higher ratio of positive outcomes for sleep (73.9%) and fatigue (68.4%).

Conclusions: This systematic review produced the comprehensive features of RCTs for therapeutic meditation. These results will help physicians and researchers further study clinical adaptations in the future as reference data.

Keywords: RCT; depression; fatigue; meditation; review; sleep.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of the study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Graphical display of the primary outcomes of the RCTs. Regarding only primary measurements, the 10 most frequently assessed symptoms or signs (conducted in ≥3 RCTs) are shown. The black square (■) indicates the number of RCTs in which the intervention achieved statistical significance compared to the control (p < 0.05 or Cohen’s d > 0.5) for the primary outcome assessment.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The features of significant outcomes in the RCTs according to physical and mental disorders. Regarding all measurements, the seven most frequently assessed outcomes are displayed according to subjects with physical and mental disorders. The circle’s size and level of darkness indicate the number of RCTs and the ratio of positive outcomes, respectively. The positive outcome indicates that the treatment achieved statistical significance compared to the control (p < 0.05 or Cohen’s d > 0.5). */# indicates the total number of outcomes measured for the seven symptoms in the RCTs for patients with given disorders and positive outcomes and their ratios.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The features of significant outcomes in the RCTs according to the types of meditations. Regarding all measurements, the seven most frequently assessed outcomes are displayed according to the types of meditations. The circle’s size and level of darkness indicate the number of RCTs and the ratio of positive outcomes, respectively. The positive outcome indicates that treatment achieved statistical significance compared to the control (p < 0.05 or Cohen’s d > 0.5). */# indicates the total number of outcomes measured for the seven symptoms in the RCTs for patients with given disorders and positive outcomes, and their ratio.
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