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. 2025 Jan 7;45(1):19.
doi: 10.1007/s00296-024-05778-z.

Can mindfulness have long-term impact on patients with fibromyalgia? A two-year prospective follow-up study of a mindfulness-based intervention

Heidi A Zangi  1   2 , Trond Haugmark  3 , Sella Aarrestad Provan  4   5
Affiliations

Can mindfulness have long-term impact on patients with fibromyalgia? A two-year prospective follow-up study of a mindfulness-based intervention

Heidi A Zangi et al. Rheumatol Int. .

Abstract

To examine changes in symptoms and health status in patients with fibromyalgia (FM) 24 months after participating in the mindfulness-based group-program, the Vitality Training (VTP), followed by physical exercise counselling. Seventy-six participants, mean age (range) 43 (26-52), females 69 (91%), diagnosed with FM according to the ACR 2011-criteria received the VTP in a previous randomised controlled trial. Control group participants could receive the VTP after a 12-month observation period, therefore only data from the intervention group were analysed in the present study. Self-reported data were collected electronically at baseline, 3, 12 and 24 months. Outcomes were patient global impression of change (PGIC), FM-severity, i.e. widespread pain (WPI) and symptom severity (SSS), pain, fatigue, sleep quality, psychological distress, motivation and barriers for physical activity, mindfulness and work participation. Trends across time-points were analysed using mixed models for repeated measurements. At 24-months, 48 (56.5%) participants responded, 94% female, median (range) age 46 (28-54), symptom duration 12 (5-33) years. Seven participants reported much/very much better on the PGIC; 21 (44%) reported no change/minimal improvement. Improvements were observed in WPI (-1.9, ES 0.4), SSS (-1.2, ES 0.6), fatigue (-0.8, p =.014) and self-efficacy for physical activity (1.4, ES 0.4). There was a significant trend of reduced WPI, SSS, pain and fatigue across the four time-points, but no additional improvements from 12 to 24-month follow-up. Participants who had completed the VTP demonstrated small to moderate improvements in symptom burden and FM-severity from baseline to 24-month follow-up. Trial registration number: ISRCTN96836577 https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN96836577 , prospectively registered 12.07.2016.

Keywords: Fibromyalgia; Long-term follow-up; Mindfulness; Prospective studies.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethical approval: This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics (2015/2447/REK sør-øst A 04/02/2016). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants before inclusion in the study. Open data sharing note: Data are available on request to the corresponding author. Open access funding note: I confirm that my institution VID Specialized University (VID vitenskapelige høgskole) has an Open Access agreement with Springer Journals. Note about related congress abstract publication: Zangi HA, Haugmark T, Provan S Aa, Hagen KB. High symptom burden and limited changes in fibromyalgia patients’ health status two years after participation in a multicomponent rehabilitation programme. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2022-eular.4532 . Competing interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart of participants throughout the study
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Patient global impression of change (PGIC, 1 - 7)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
a-d: Changes across the four time-points for variables with a significant trend
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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