Specific Somatic Symptoms Alleviated by Mindfulness Meditation Training

Abstract

Background: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is an evidence-based intervention developed to teach mindfulness meditation to a wide range of patients. Although the efficacy of MBSR has been established for a variety of medical and psychiatric conditions, measured outcomes rarely include physical symptoms related to anxiety, depression, and/or stress. The current study presents a secondary analysis of data obtained from patients seeking MBSR for symptoms of anxiety, depression, and/or other stress-related concerns in an outpatient mental health clinic setting. Original analyses from this patient sample found that patients reported reductions not only on measures of anxiety, depression, and stress, but also reported reduced somatic symptoms following MBSR. Methods: Data for this secondary analysis were available from a subsample of 17 patients. Item analysis of the somatic symptom measure was conducted to determine which of the 15 specific somatic symptoms most often seen in primary care medical settings were endorsed and which symptoms improved following MBSR. A second aim was to determine whether somatic symptoms were related to probable GAD status, and if so, whether somatic symptoms equivalently improved among the probable GAD patient group. Results: Somatic symptoms of physical fatigue, sleep disturbance, gastrointestinal symptoms, and various forms of pain were more frequently endorsed. These symptoms improved following MBSR, with the exception of pain in the arms, legs, or joints. Patients screening positive for GAD reported more somatic symptoms before MBSR than patients who screened negative (p < .026). Probable GAD patients also reported greater somatic symptom improvement following MBSR (p < .004), and both groups of patients reported only minimal to mild somatic symptoms post-intervention. Conclusions: These results provide preliminary evidence that MBSR may be associated with improvements in somatic symptoms such as fatigue, sleep disturbance, and certain forms of pain for patients with and without probable GAD. However, large controlled research studies measuring somatic symptoms are needed.