A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for major depressive disorder in undergraduate students: Dose- response effect, inflammatory markers and BDNF.
Wei Liu, Jing Yuan, Yun Wu, Li Xu, Xin Wang, Junyu Meng, Yujun Wei, Yan Zhang, Chuan-Yuan Kang, Jian-Zhong Yang
Psychiatry research January 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115671 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractMindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) reduced depression, anxiety, sleep problems, and inflammatory markers (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α) while increasing mindfulness, self-compassion, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in college students with major depressive disorder, compared with a wait-list group. Greater daily practice time and more session attendance were linked to larger reductions in depression, anxiety, and sleep difficulties. Completers showed significantly greater improvement than partial attendees, indicating a dose-response effect.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | College students with major depressive disorder |
| Intervention | mindfulness-based cognitive therapy |
| Duration | 8-week intervention |
| Topics | Depression |
| Keywords | Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy Randomized control trial The dose-response effect |
| Citations | 19 |
| Key finding | MBCT significantly reduced depressive symptoms, anxiety, sleep problems, and pro-inflammatory cytokines while increasing mindfulness, self-compassion, and BDNF, with a dose-response effect based on practice time and session attendance. |
Abstract
To examine the dose-response effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) for college students with major depressive disorder (MDD), a randomized control trial with MBCT and a wait-list (WL) group was performed. All participants were invited to self-administer a set of questionnaires at baseline, mid-intervention (4th week), and post-intervention (8th week) by the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS). The serum levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, BDNF were detected at baseline and post-intervention. After intervention, the scores of PHQ-9, GAD-7, PSQI, and the levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α in the MBCT were significantly lower than those in WL group, and total scores of FFMQ, SCS, and the level of BDNF were significantly higher than those in WL group. In MBCT group, daily practice time and session numbers positively related to reduction rates of PHQ-9, GAD-7 and PSQI at post-intervention. The reduction rate of PHQ-9, GAD-7 and PSQI at post-intervention in the completers were higher significantly than those in the partial attendees. These findings suggested MBCT is effective for MDD, and the intervention has a dose-response effect. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registration number is [ChiCTR2100044309].