Author: Hilton L1, Hempel S2, Ewing BA2, Apaydin E2, Xenakis L2, Newberry S2, Colaiaco B2, Maher AR2, Shanman RM2, Sorbero ME2, Maglione MA2
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup>RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, PO Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA, 90407-2138, USA. hilton@rand.org.
<sup>2</sup>RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, PO Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA, 90407-2138, USA.
Conference/Journal: Ann Behav Med.
Date published: 2016 Sep 22
Other:
Word Count: 165
BACKGROUND: Chronic pain patients increasingly seek treatment through mindfulness meditation.
PURPOSE: This study aims to synthesize evidence on efficacy and safety of mindfulness meditation interventions for the treatment of chronic pain in adults.
METHOD: We conducted a systematic review on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with meta-analyses using the Hartung-Knapp-Sidik-Jonkman method for random-effects models. Quality of evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach. Outcomes included pain, depression, quality of life, and analgesic use.
RESULTS: Thirty-eight RCTs met inclusion criteria; seven reported on safety. We found low-quality evidence that mindfulness meditation is associated with a small decrease in pain compared with all types of controls in 30 RCTs. Statistically significant effects were also found for depression symptoms and quality of life.
CONCLUSIONS: While mindfulness meditation improves pain and depression symptoms and quality of life, additional well-designed, rigorous, and large-scale RCTs are needed to decisively provide estimates of the efficacy of mindfulness meditation for chronic pain.
KEYWORDS: Chronic pain; Meditation; Mindfulness; Systematic review
PMID: 27658913 DOI: 10.1007/s12160-016-9844-2