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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2025 Sep;50(3):417-428.
doi: 10.1007/s10484-025-09690-5. Epub 2025 Jul 22.

Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Salivary Cortisol and α-amylase Level, Anxiety and Depression in Students: A Randomized and Parallel-Group Clinical Trial

Saba Hassanvandi  1 , Reza Mohammadzadegan  2 , Seyed Hassan Saadat  3 , Boshra Hatef  4 , Shima Shahyad  5
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Salivary Cortisol and α-amylase Level, Anxiety and Depression in Students: A Randomized and Parallel-Group Clinical Trial

Saba Hassanvandi et al. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2025 Sep.

Abstract

The current trial aimed to assess the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction training on salivary cortisol and α-amylase levels, anxiety and depression of students. This research was an experimental trial with a pre-test-post-test design and a control group. The statistical population of the research included all students studying in the universities of Khoy, Iran in 2021. The sample consisted of 30 people who were assigned to two experimental and control groups equally. Stress, anxiety and depression scale (DASS-21), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and saliva samples were passively taken by ELISA laboratory method with special kits. Data analysis was done using an independent t-test and analysis of covariance using IBM-SPSS version 26 software. The results showed that MBSR training on general health, alpha-amylase level and alpha-amylase/cortisol ratio of experimental group participants was more effective than the control group (P < 0.05). However, it was not effective on students' cortisol levels (P > 0.05). According to the findings, it can be argued that MBSR training has been able to promote the psychological (DASS and general health) and hormonal (alpha amylase level and alpha-amylase/cortisol ratio) mental health indicators of the experimental group participants compared to the control group.

Keywords: Cortisol; Mental health; Mindfulness-based of stress reduction; Salivary α-amylase.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate: This research was approved by the code of ethics IR.MBSU.BAQ.REC.1399.004 at Baqiyatullah University of Medical Sciences, Islamic Republic of Iran, and the consent of the participants was obtained. Consent for Publication: Not applicable.

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