AI Article Synopsis
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) was tested on lonely older adults to see if it helps reduce glucocorticoid resistance (GCR), an issue that might affect their immune response.
- While initial results showed MBSR helped buffer GCR increases compared to a Health Enhancement Program, these benefits did not last at the 3-month follow-up.
- The study highlights the potential of MBSR in improving health in lonely older adults and suggests further exploration of its biological mechanisms in future research.
Article Abstract
Objective: Mindfulness interventions have been effective for improving a range of health outcomes; however, pathways underlying these effects remain unclear. Inflammatory processes may play a role, possibly through increased resistance of immune cells to the anti-inflammatory effects of glucocorticoids (i.e., glucocorticoid resistance, or GCR). Here, we conducted an initial examination of whether mindfulness training mitigates GCR among lonely older adults.
Methods: Lonely older adults (65-85 years; n = 190) were randomly assigned to an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) or a matched Health Enhancement Program (HEP). Whole blood drawn before and after the intervention and at 3-month follow-up was incubated with endotoxin and varying concentrations of dexamethasone, and interleukin-6 production was assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. GCR was assessed as the concentration of dexamethasone required to decrease the stimulated interleukin-6 response by 50% (half maximal inhibitory concentration), with higher concentrations indicating greater GCR. Mixed-effects linear models tested time (pre, post, follow-up) by condition (MBSR versus HEP) effects.
Results: There was no overall time by condition effect on GCR across all time points. However, a significant time by condition effect was observed from preintervention to postintervention (d = 0.29), such that MBSR buffered increases in GCR observed in the HEP group. Although MBSR showed small, nonsignificant reductions in GCR from preintervention to 3-month follow-up, group differences were not maintained at the 3-month follow-up (d = 0.10).
Conclusions: Results suggest that MBSR may protect against declines in the sensitivity of immune cells to the anti-inflammatory effects of glucocorticoids among at-risk lonely older adults and show value in studying this biological mechanism in future trials.Trial Registration: Clinical Trials identifier NCT02888600.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8254739 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000928 | DOI Listing |
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