Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Addition to Usual Care is Associated with Improvements in Pain, Fatigue and Cognitive Failures Among Veterans with Gulf War Illness.
Author: Kearney DJ1, Simpson TL2, Malte CA3, Felleman B4, Martinez ME4, Hunt SC5.
Affiliation:
1VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Department of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA. Electronic address: david.kearney@va.gov. 2Center of Excellence in Substance Abuse Treatment and Education (CESATE), VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA. 3Center of Excellence in Substance Abuse Treatment and Education (CESATE), VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, USA. 4VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, USA. 5VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Department of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
Conference/Journal: Am J Med.
Date published: 2015 Oct 28
Other:
Pages: S0002-9343(15)00998-5 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2015.09.015 , Word Count: 262
BACKGROUND:
Many Gulf War I veterans report ongoing negative health consequences. The constellation of pain, fatigue and concentration/memory disturbances is referred to as Gulf War Illness. Prior research suggests that Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) may be beneficial for these symptoms, but MBSR has not been studied for veterans with Gulf War Illness. The objective of this trial was to conduct a pilot study of MBSR for veterans with Gulf War Illness.
METHODS:
Veterans (N=55) with Gulf War Illness were randomly assigned to treatment as usual plus MBSR or treatment as usual only. MBSR was delivered in 8 weekly 2.5 hour sessions plus a single 7-hour weekend session. Pain, fatigue, and cognitive failures were the primary outcomes, assessed at baseline, post-MBSR and at 6-months follow-up. Secondary outcomes included symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression.
RESULTS:
In intention-to-treat analyses, at 6-month follow-up, veterans randomized to MBSR plus treatment as usual reported greater reductions in pain (f = 0.33; P = 0.049), fatigue (f = 0.32; P = 0.027) and cognitive failures (f = 0.40; P < 0.001). Depressive symptoms showed a greater decline post-MBSR (f = 0.22; P = 0.050) and at 6-months (f = 0.27; P = 0.031) relative to treatment as usual only. Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder at baseline randomized to MBSR plus treatment as usual experienced significantly greater reductions in symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder post-MBSR (f = 0.44; P = 0.005) but not at 6-months follow-up (f = 0.31; P = 0.082).
CONCLUSIONS:
MBSR in addition to treatment as usual is associated with significant improvements in self-reported symptoms of Gulf War Illness, including pain, fatigue, cognitive failures, and depression.
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
KEYWORDS:
Complementary and Alternative Medicine; Gulf War Illness; Mindfulness; Veterans
PMID: 26519614
BACK
