Author: Roghayeh Khabiri1, Leila Jahangiry2,3, Mehdi Abbasian4,5, Fatollah Majidi6, Mahdieh Abbasalizad Farhangi7, Homayoun Sadeghi-Bazargani8, Koen Ponnet9
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> Tabriz Health Services Management Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
<sup>2</sup> Health Education and Health Promotion Department, School of Public Health, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. jahangiryleila@gmail.com.
<sup>3</sup> Medical Education Research Center, Health Management and Safety Promotion Research Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. jahangiryleila@gmail.com.
<sup>4</sup> Student Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
<sup>5</sup> Department of Geriatric Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
<sup>6</sup> Medical Education Research Center, Health Management and Safety Promotion Research Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
<sup>7</sup> Department of Community Nutrition, Faculty of Nutrition, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
<sup>8</sup> Road Traffic Injury Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
<sup>9</sup> Faculty of Social Sciences, Imec-Mict-Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Conference/Journal: J Relig Health
Date published: 2024 Apr 2
Other:
Special Notes: doi: 10.1007/s10943-024-02034-3. , Word Count: 260
This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of spiritually based interventions on blood pressure (BP) among adults. A systematic search was performed using the PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane databases to identify studies evaluating spiritual interventions, including meditation, transcendental meditation, mindfulness meditation, and yoga, for high BP among adults up to January 1, 2022. The inclusion criteria were (a) randomized controlled trials (RCTs), (b) studies in English or Persian, (c) studies conducted among adults (≥ 18 years), and (d) studies reporting systolic or diastolic BP. Given the high heterogeneity of these studies, a random effect model was used to calculate the effect sizes for the RCTs. In total, the systematic review included 24 studies and the meta-analysis included 23 studies. As some of studies reported two or more outcome measurements, separate estimates of each outcome were extracted for that study (24 datasets). Fifteen trials reported the mean (SD) systolic blood pressure (SBP), and 13 trials reported the mean (SD) diastolic blood pressure (DBP). In addition, 13 studies reported means (SDs) and six trials reported mean changes in DBP. A significant decrease was found in systolic BP following intervention ((WMD (weighted mean difference) = - 7.63 [- 9.61 to - 5.65; P < 0.001]). We observed significant heterogeneity among the studies (I2 = 96.9; P < 0.001). A significant decrease was observed in DBP following the interventions (WMD = - 4.75 [- 6.45 to - 3.05; P < 0.001]). Spiritually based interventions including meditation and yoga had beneficial effects in reducing both SBP and DBP. Reducing BP can be expected to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Keywords: Blood pressure; Meditation; Spiritually based intervention; Yoga.
PMID: 38565834 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-024-02034-3