Is Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Effective for People with Hypertension? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 30 Years of Evidence

Ciro Conversano, Graziella Orrù, Andrea Pozza, Mario Miccoli, Rebecca Ciacchini, Laura Marchi and Angelo Gemignani
Additional contact information
Ciro Conversano: Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology, Critical and Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Graziella Orrù: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Andrea Pozza: Department of Medical Sciences, Surgery and Neurosciences, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
Mario Miccoli: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Rebecca Ciacchini: Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology, Critical and Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Laura Marchi: Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology, Critical and Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Angelo Gemignani: Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology, Critical and Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 6, 1-20

Abstract: Background : Hypertension is among the most important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, which are considered high mortality risk medical conditions. To date, several studies have reported positive effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) interventions on physical and psychological well-being in other medical conditions, but no meta-analysis on MBSR programs for hypertension has been conducted. Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of MBSR programs for hypertension. Methods : A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials examining the effects of MBSR on systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), anxiety, depression, and perceived stress in people with hypertension or pre-hypertension was conducted. The PubMed/MEDLINE and PsycINFO databases were searched in November 2020 to identify relevant studies. Results : Six studies were included. The comparison of MBSR versus control conditions on diastolic BP was associated with a statistically significant mean effect size favoring MBSR over control conditions ( MD = ?2.029; 95% confidence interval (CI): ?3.676 to ?0.383, p = 0.016, k = 6; 22 effect sizes overall), without evidence of heterogeneity ( I 2 = 0.000%). The comparison of MBSR versus control conditions on systolic BP was associated with a mean effect size which was statistically significant only at a marginal level ( MD = ?3.894; 95% CI: ?7.736–0.053, p = 0.047, k = 6; 22 effect sizes overall), without evidence of high heterogeneity ( I 2 = 20.772%). The higher the proportion of participants on antihypertensive medications was, the larger the effects of MBSR were on systolic BP ( B = ?0.750, z = ?2.73, p = 0.003). Conclusions : MBSR seems to be a promising intervention, particularly effective on the reduction of diastolic BP. More well-conducted trials are required.

Keywords: mindfulness; mind–body therapies; blood pressure; hypertension; meditation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/6/2882/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/6/2882/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:6:p:2882-:d:515272

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().