Meditation for asthma: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Paudyal, Priyamvada; Jones, Christina; Grindey, Caroline; Dawood, Rusha; Smith, Helen

Abstract

Objective: To conduct a comprehensive review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of meditation on a variety of asthma outcomes. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO and AMED in June 2016 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effectiveness of meditation in adults with asthma. No restriction was put on language or year of publication. Study quality was assessed using The Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool. Meta-analysis was carried out using RevMan 5.3. Results: Four RCTs involving 201 patients met the inclusion criteria. Quality of studies was inconsistent with only one study reporting adequate allocation concealment. Disease-specific quality of life was assessed in two trials; a pooled result involving 62 intervention and 65 control participants indicated a significant improvement in quality of life in the meditation group compared to the control group (SMD 0.40, 95% CI 0.05–0.76). A pooled result from all four studies indicated the uncertain effect of meditation in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) (SMD −0.67, 95% CI −2.17 to 0.82). Results from the individual trials suggest that meditation may be helpful in reducing perceived stress and the use of short-term rescue medication. Conclusion: Our review suggests that there is some evidence that meditation is beneficial in improving quality of life in asthma patients. As two out of four studies in our review were of poor quality, further trials with better methodological quality are needed to support or refute this finding.

Citation

Paudyal, P., Jones, C., Grindey, C., Dawood, R., & Smith, H. (2018). Meditation for asthma: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Asthma, 55(7), 771-778. https://doi.org/10.1080/02770903.2017.1365887

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Oct 13, 2017
• Publication Date: Jul 3, 2018
• Deposit Date: Jun 23, 2023
• Journal: Journal of Asthma
• Print ISSN: 0277-0903
• Electronic ISSN: 1532-4303
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 55
• Issue: 7
• Pages: 771-778
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02770903.2017.1365887
• Keywords: Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine; Immunology and Allergy; Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health; Meditation; mindfulness; asthma; randomized controlled trials; quality of life; lung function
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=ijas20; Received: 2017-03-01; Revised: 2017-08-01; Accepted: 2017-08-06; Published: 2017-10-13