Mindfulness training may improve outcomes for people with Parkinson’s disease

Exercise Oriented Integrated Mindfulness Training Parkinson’s disease (PD) rehabilitation protocols may help increase resilience and reduce psychocognitive impairment in patients with mild to moderate PD, a study conducted in Hong Kong during turbulent times reveals. I was.

the study, was announced in npj Parkinson’s diseasecompared the effects of a modified mindfulness meditation program on stretching and resistance training exercise (SRTE) in patients with mild to moderate PD in , Hong Kong, and China.

Of the 126 possible participants enrolled by convenience sampling, 68 met eligibility. Sixty-eight participants were randomized 1:1 to his 90-minute sessions of mindfulness meditation or SRTE eight times a week, with 33 patients in the meditation group and 35 in the meditation group. joined his traditional STRE group. The mean (SD) age of all participants was 65.5 years (8.4) and the majority (57.4%) were female, although PD was 1.5 more common in males than in females. A generalized estimating equation analysis was used to confirm the data.

The evaluation time point was 3 points. The August 2019 baseline (T0) period was marked by Hong Kong protests against China’s extradition bill. The period during the intervention and during his first evaluation at T1 in the fall of 2019 was marked by an increase in violence. The 3-month post-intervention (T2) period in early 2020 coincided with the onset of shutdowns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Researchers found that compared to SRTE, mindfulness meditation was an attainable and hopeful strategy for managing depressive symptoms and emotional stability, with similar benefits in cognitive performance. Did.

Results in the mindfulness group were significantly improved, with reduced depressive symptoms at eight weeks (d−1.66; 95% CI, -3.31 to -.02), maintained emotional stability at 20 weeks (d2.08; 95% CI, .59–3.56).

Both groups showed significant immediate, small to moderate effects on cognition, reaching marginal clinical significance (effect size). [d] = 0.36–0.37, P. = .006–.011).

We also found that patients in the mindfulness meditation group had improved mental outcomes compared to the exercise group. bottom.

Participants in the physical exercise group showed improved motor symptoms, delayed recall, and overall cognitive performance at T1, but without a statistically significant advantage.

Emotional reactivity worsened at T2 (at the start of the COVID -19 pandemic) for the exercise group, and a statistically significant difference was maintained when compared to the mindfulness meditation group.

Although the authors did not intend to measure the effects of mindfulness on stressful triggers such as the COVID-19 pandemic or social anxiety, these situations further confirm the efficacy of mindfulness. I pointed out that To the author’s knowledge, this is the first clinical trial of a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) for PD administered during social anxiety and his COVID-19 pandemic.

For the public good, the authors encourage “pandemic preparedness” to include mindfulness tips and techniques to reduce emotional reactivity and pandemic-related distress.

The authors found that health care professionals believe that Parkinson’s disease is psychologically, physically, and cognitively taxing and that mindfulness can be used to reduce the impact of Parkinson’s disease on these areas. We proposed to integrate it into evidence-based exercise therapy for rehabilitation.

The authors noted that this study has some limitations. The COVID-19 pandemic and related barriers have resulted in a smaller sample size, but still above average for other his MBI clinical trials.

Due to COVID-19 pandemic guidelines, in-person testing was not possible at T2 and evaluations were conducted by telephone. Therefore, the long-term effects of his MBI on motor symptoms, functional mobility, and cognition are unknown. Participants’ expectations about the effect of each intervention or physical activity level measure were not collected during the study period. It is also possible that selection bias occurred as participants participated through convenient sampling.

reference

Kwok JYY, Choi EPH, Wong JYH, et al. A randomized clinical trial of mindfulness meditation and exercise in Parkinson’s disease during social anxiety. NPJ Parkinson’s disease2023;9(1):7. Published online 21 January 2023 doi:10.1038/s41531-023-00452-w