Effects of mindfulness-based interventions on cognitive impairment in patients with cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Cognitive impairment is common among cancer survivors and harms quality of life. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 23 randomized and 7 non-randomized controlled trials found that mindfulness interventions significantly improved patients' subjective cognitive function immediately after the intervention (between-group standardized mean difference 0.81, 95% CI 0.58 to 1.03; within-group 1.12, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.52) and at follow-up (between-group 0.39, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.68; within-group 0.59, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.82). Larger effects appeared in developing versus developed countries and for interventions without additional home practice in within-group comparisons. No significant effects were found on objective cognitive function.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Cognitive impairment has been widely reported among cancer survivors, significantly impacting their quality of life. Mindfulness interventions are increasingly used to alleviate cognitive impairment in patients with cancer. This study aimed to assess the effects of mindfulness interventions on cognitive impairment in patients with cancer post-intervention and at follow-up. Up until February 2024, five English databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane, and PsycINFO) and three Chinese databases (CNKI, Wan Fang, and CBM) were searched to identify relevant studies. To determine the effect size, we used random effects model to compute the standardized mean difference and 95 % confidence intervals. We included 23 randomized controlled trials and seven non-randomized controlled trials. Mindfulness interventions significantly improved patients' subjective cognitive function post-intervention (SMDbetween-group=0.81, 95 %CI: 0.58 to 1.03; SMDwithin-group=1.12, 95 %CI: 0.71 to 1.52) and at follow-up (SMDbetween-group=0.39, 95 %CI: 0.09 to 0.68; SMDwithin-group=0.59, 95 %CI: 0.35 to 0.82). Subgroup analysis indicated significantly larger effect of the interventions in developing countries than those in developed countries (p between-group=0.014; p within-group=0.008), and of the interventions without additional home practice than those with home practice in within-group comparisons (p between-group=0.217; p within-group=0.018). There were no significant differences in the effects between interventions lasting ≥eight weeks and < eight weeks (p between-group=0.093; p between-group=0.303). However, no significant effects were observed on objective cognitive function. Mindfulness-based interventions can effectively improve the subjective cognitive function in cancer patients both post-intervention and at follow-up. Future intervention research should take into account regions, home practice, and intervention duration.