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Cited by 286Mindfulness and Compassion InterventionsPsychotherapy Techniques and ApplicationsAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes

MEDITATIVE THERAPIES FOR REDUCING ANXIETY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS: Review: Meditative Therapies for Reducing Anxiety

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Chen, Kevin W., Berger, Christine C., Manheimer, Eric, Forde, Darlene, Magidson, Jessica, Dachman, Laya, Lejuez, C. W.·2012·Depression and Anxiety
DOI 10.1002/da.21964PMC PMC3718554
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychiatric disorders and meditative therapies are frequently sought by patients with anxiety as a complementary therapy. Although multiple reviews exist on the general health benefits of meditation, no review has focused on the efficacy of meditation for anxiety specifically. METHODS: Major medical databases were searched thoroughly with keywords related to various types of meditation and anxiety. Over 1,000 abstracts were screened, and 200+ full articles were reviewed. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. The Boutron (Boutron et al., 2005: J Clin Epidemiol 58:1233-1240) checklist to evaluate a report of a nonpharmaceutical trial (CLEAR-NPT) was used to assess study quality; 90% of the authors were contacted for additional information. Review Manager 5 was used for meta-analysis. RESULTS: A total of 36 RCTs were included in the meta-analysis (2,466 observations). Most RCTs were conducted among patients with anxiety as a secondary concern. The study quality ranged from 0.3 to 1.0 on the 0.0-1.0 scale (mean = 0.72). Standardized mean difference (SMD) was -0.52 in comparison with waiting-list control (p < .001; 25 RCTs), -0.59 in comparison with attention control (p < .001; seven RCTs), and -0.27 in comparison with alternative treatments (p < .01; 10 RCTs). Twenty-five studies reported statistically superior outcomes in the meditation group compared to control. No adverse effects were reported. CONCLUSIONS: This review demonstrates some efficacy of meditative therapies in reducing anxiety symptoms, which has important clinical implications for applying meditative techniques in treating anxiety. However, most studies measured only improvement in anxiety symptoms, but not anxiety disorders as clinically diagnosed.

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Crossref · 10.1002/da.21964

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  • In the best review, 40% of studies were considered high quality.

    “In the best review, 40% of studies were considered to be of high quality [39].”

    From The effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions on anxiety disorders. A systematic meta-review (2020) · cites this paper as [39]

  • There are still several experimental studies using different meditation procedures; these procedures are frequently not comparable, nor are the duration, number, or content of sessions the same.

    “However, if we examine the kind of meditation used, there are still several experimental studies using different meditation procedures [39]; these procedures are frequently not comparable, nor are the duration, number, or content of sessions the same (e.g., transcendental meditation, yoga, or tai-chi).”

    From The effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions on anxiety disorders. A systematic meta-review (2020) · cites this paper as [39]

  • RCTs were assessed using a modified CLEAR-NPT checklist, and non-RCTs were assessed using the NHLBI-NIH quality assessment tool.

    “RCTs were assessed using a modified form of the Boutron checklist to evaluate a report of a nonpharmacological trial (CLEAR-NPT; Appendix A.3) [51,62]. Non-RCTs were assessed using the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NHLBI-NIH) quality assessment tool for single-arm, pre-post, or non-randomized studies (Appendix A.4) [63].”

    From Breathing Practices for Stress and Anxiety Reduction: Conceptual Framework of Implementation Guidelines Based on a Systematic Review of the Published Literature (2023) · cites this paper as [51]

  • For studies with positive results, the effect size was large for 20%, moderate for 50%, and small for 30%.

    “For the studies with positive results for mindfulness in comparison to control or other intervention groups, the range of effect size was large for 20% of studies [23,30], moderate for 50% [26,29,32,33,39], and small for 30% [31,34,36].”

    From The effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions on anxiety disorders. A systematic meta-review (2020) · cites this paper as [39]

    The Methods (Data Analysis) and Results (Main Outcome Measures) report standardized mean differences by control-group type, not a breakdown of positive mindfulness studies into large, moderate, and small effects. Searches for the 20%/50%/30% figures and those effect-size categories found no matching passage in our copy. Page numbers were not available. (LLM, conf=0.72)

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. [12]Murphy M Donovan S Taylor E The Physical and Psychological Effects of Meditation: A Review of Contemporary Research Published by the Institute of Noetic Sciences
  2. [43]Review Manager 5.0 website http://ims.cochrane.org/revman
  3. [79]Kondwani K Schneider R Alexander C Left ventricular mass regression with the transcendental meditation technique and a health education program in hypertensive African Americans Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 2005 17 181

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Authors
Chen, K. W., Berger, C. C., Manheimer, E., Forde, D., Magidson, J., Dachman, L., & Lejuez, C. W.
Affiliations
  • University of Maryland, Baltimore (US)
  • University of Maryland, College Park (US)
Corresponding author
Chen, Kevin W.
ORCID
Venue
Depression and Anxiety
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2012-06-14
Volume
29
Issue
7
Pages
545-562
ISSN
1091-4269 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1002/da.21964
PMC
PMC3718554
OpenAlex
W1939450920
Cited by
286
References
91
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 74 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 2
FWCI
1.95
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
doi.wiley.com/10.1002/tdm_license_1.1 (tdm, 1174 d)
Locations
  • Depression and Anxiety (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (R24AT001293)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
Keywords
meditation, anxiety, anxiety disorders, complementary therapy, anxiety symptom reduction, treatment efficacy, waitlist control, attentional control
MeSH terms
Anxiety, Anxiety Disorders, Humans, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Treatment Outcome, Meditation

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