Background
Aims
Methods
Search
((“Mindfulness”[Mesh] OR mindfulness OR “mindfulness meditation” OR “meditation” OR “mindfulness based cognitive therapy” OR MBCT OR “mindfulness based stress reduction” OR MBSR)) AND (((((((“Cytokines”[Mesh]) OR “Interleukins”[Mesh]) OR “Biological Markers”[Mesh]) OR “Neuropeptides”[Mesh]) OR “C-Reactive Protein”[Mesh])) OR (((biomarker* OR cytokine* OR interleukin* OR neuropeptide* OR “C-reactive protein” OR CRP)))).
Inclusion criteria
Study designs
Participants
Biomarkers
Interventions
Outcomes
Accessibility of data
Assessment of study quality
Results
Healthy individuals
Cytokines
Reference | Participants | Study design | Interventions | Controls | Follow up | Outcomes | Findings |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oken et al. (2010) [21] | 31 Dementia caregivers | RCT (pilot) | MM (N = 10) 6 weeks + common first-week session | Education (N = 11) 6 weeks + common first-week session Respite (N = 10) 7 weeks respite care | No | IL-6, TNF-α, HS-CRP, salivary cortisol | There were no pre- and post-intervention differences in the levels of cytokines between the different intervention conditions (p > 0.05). |
Barrett et al. (2012) [33] | 149 ≥ 50y | RCT | MBSR (N = 51) 8 weeks | Exercise (N = 47) 8 weeks Observational Control (N = 51) | No | IL-8, neutrophil count, viral nucleic acid nasal secretion | Compared to the control group, IL-8 levels in the MBSR group were slightly higher in nasal wash collected during acute respiratory infection (p = 0.02). |
Creswell et al. (2012) [35] | 40 ≥ 55y | RCT (small) | MBSR (N = 20) 8 weeks | Wait-list Control (N = 20) | No | IL-6, CRP, pro-inflammatory gene expression | No significant treatment condition × time interaction for log-transformed IL-6 was observed (p = 0.57). |
Gallegos et al. (2013) [36] | 200 Community-dwelling ≥ 65y | RCT | MBSR (N = 100) 8 weeks | Wait-list Control (N = 100) | 24 weeks | IL-6, IGF-1, IgM and IgG antibody response | There were no differences in the levels of IL-6 at post-MBSR intervention follow-ups. No associations were found between MBSR activities and IL-6 levels. |
Rosenkranz et al. (2013) [37] | 49 Community volunteers | RCT | MBSR (N = 33) 8 weeks | Health Enhancement Program (N = 16) 8 weeks | 4 months | blister fluid TNF-α and IL-8, salivary cortisol | There were no pre- and post-intervention differences in the levels of TNF-α and IL-8 between the MBSR group and the active control intervention. Increased practice in the MBSR group was associated with a decrease in TNF-α levels, whereas the active control group tended to show the opposite relationship. |
Hayney et al. (2014) [34] | 149 ≥ 50y | RCT | MBSR (N = 51) 8 weeks | Exercise (N = 47) 8 weeks Observational Control (N = 51) | No | IFN-γ, IL-10 Serum influenza antibody, nasal IgA | There were no significant differences in the production of IFN-γ and IL-10 in the influenza-vaccinated individuals between the different intervention conditions. |
Neuropeptides and CRP
Reference | Participants | Study design | Interventions | Controls | Follow up | Outcomes | Findings |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oken et al. (2010) [21] | 31 Dementia caregivers | RCT (pilot) | MM (N = 10) 6 weeks + common first-week session | Education (N = 11) 6 weeks + common first-week session Respite (N = 10) 7 weeks respite care | No | IL-6, TNF-α, HS-CRP, salivary cortisol | There were no pre- and post-intervention differences in the levels of HS-CRP between the different intervention conditions (p > 0.05). |
Creswell et al. (2012) [35] | 40 ≥ 55y | RCT (small) | MBSR (N = 20) 8 weeks | Wait-list Control (N = 20) | No | IL-6, CRP, pro-inflammatory gene expression | Compared to the control group, a decrease in log-transformed CRP between pre- and post-intervention (p = 0.08). |
Gallegos et al. (2013) [36] | 200 ≥ 65y | RCT | MBSR (N = 100) 8 weeks | Wait-list Control (N = 100) | 24 weeks | IL-6, IGF-1, IgM and IgG antibody response | There were positive effects of MBSR activities between IGF-1 levels and yoga, and sitting meditation (p < 0.01). |
Johnson et al. (2014) [22] | 281 Marine infantries | NRCT | MT (N = 147) 8 weeks | Usual training (N = 134) | No | plasma neuropeptide Y (NPY), norepinephrine | There were no significant pre- and post-intervention differences in plasma concentrations of NPY between MT intervention and the control group. The MT intervention group had lower plasma concentrations of NPY than the control group after the stressful training (p < 0.01). |
Cancer patients
Reference | Participants | Study design | Interventions | Controls | Follow up | Outcomes | Findings |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Carlson et al. (2003) [32] | 59 Early stage BC 49 PC 10 | Open | MBSR (N = 59) 8 weeks | None | No | TNF, IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-10, NK, NKT, B, T total, T helper, and T cytotoxic cells | Although there were no significant differences in the overall number of lymphocytes or cell subsets, T cell production of IL-4 increased and IFN-γ decreased, whereas NK cell production of IL-10 decreased. |
Carlson et al. (2007) [31] | 59 Early stage BC 49 PC 10 | Open | MBSR (N = 59) 8 weeks | None | 12 months | TNF, IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-10, NK, NKT, B, T total, T helper, and T cytotoxic cells, salivary cortisol, blood pressure, heart rate | Immune patterns over the year indicated a continued reduction in Th1 (pro-inflammatory) cytokines. T-cell population of TNF, IFN-γ, and IL-4 decreased substantially over the course of the year between pre- and post-intervention, and across the follow-up assessments. |
Witek-Janusek et al. (2008) [38] | 96 Early stage BC 66 healthy 30 | NRCT | MBSR (N = 38) 8 weeks | Control (usual care) (N = 28) 8 weeks Healthy Control (N = 30) | 1 month | IL-2, IL-6, IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-10, T, NK, T helper, and T cytotoxic cells, NK cell activity, plasma cortisol | Although the non-MBSR group showed continued reduction in IFN- γ production with increased IL-4, IL-6, and IL-10 production between pre- and 1-month post-intervention, the MBSR group re-established their cytokine production levels over time. |
Lengacher et al. (2012) [39] | 52 Advanced stage cancer 26 caregivers 26 | Open | MBSR (N = 52) 6 weeks | None | No | salivary IL-6 (2 times/day), salivary cortisol | There was a significant reduction in salivary IL-6 in all MBSR participants pre- to post-intervention (p = 0.002). |
Lengacher et al. (2013) [40] | 82 Early ~ advanced stage BC | RCT | MBSR (N = 40) 6 weeks | Control (usual care) (N = 42) 6 weeks | No | Th1: IFN-γ, Th2: IL-4, T, NK, and B cells | The MBSR group had T cells more readily activated by the mitogen PHA compared to the control group (p =0.002). The production of IFN-γ showed no significant changes between pre- and post-intervention; however, IL-4 production decreased compared to the control group. There was an increase in the Th1/Th2 ratio in the MBSR group (p = 0.03). |
Bower et al. (2015) [23] | 71 Early stage BC | RCT | MAPs (N = 39) 6 weeks | Wait-list Control (N = 32) 6 weeks | 3 months | IL-6, CRP, 19 pro-inflammatory gene transcripts, NF-κB, anti-inflammatory glucocorticoid receptor (GR), CREB family factors, Type I interferon response factors, TNF receptor type II | The MAPS intervention group showed a significant decline in pro-inflammatory gene expression from baseline to post-intervention (p = 0.009). There were no significant effects of intervention for IL-6, CRP, and TNF receptor type II. |
Quality of included studies and interventions
Study | Trial qualitya
| Intervention quality |
---|---|---|
Oken et al. (2010) [21] | AS (+) AC (+) PK (+) IO (?) | Manual (+) Training (+) Integrity check (?) |
Barrett et al. (2012) [33] | AS (+) AC (+) PK (-) IO (+) | Manual (+) Training (+) Integrity check (?) |
Creswell et al. (2012) [35] | AS (+) AC (+) PK (-) IO (+) | Manual (+) Training (+) Integrity check (?) |
Gallegos et al. (2013) [36] | AS (+) AC (+) PK (-) IO (+) | Manual (+) Training (?) Integrity check (?) |
Rosenkranz et al. (2013) [37] | AS (+) AC (+) PK (+) IO (?) | Manual (+) Training (+) Integrity check (?) |
Hayney et al. (2014) [34] | AS (+) AC (+) PK (+) IO (?) | Manual (+) Training (+) Integrity check (?) |
Johnson et al. (2014) [22] | AS (+) AC (+) PK (-) IO (+) | Manual (+) Training (?) Integrity check (?) |
Carlson et al. (2003) [31] | AS (-) AC (-) PK (-) IO (+) | Manual (+) Training (?) Integrity check (?) |
Carlson et al. (2007) [32] | AS (-) AC (-) PK (-) IO (+) | Manual (+) Training (?) Integrity check (?) |
Witek-Janusek et al. (2008) [38] | AS (-) AC (-) PK (-) IO (?) | Manual (+) Training (+) Integrity check (?) |
Lengacher et al. (2012) [39] | AS (-) AC (-) PK (-) IO (?) | Manual (+) Training (+) Integrity check (?) |
Lengacher et al. (2013) [40] | AS (+) AC (+) PK (-) IO (?) | Manual (+) Training (+) Integrity check (?) |
Bower et al. (2015) [23] | AS (+) AC (+) PK (?) IO (-) | Manual (+) Training (?) Integrity check (?) |