Impact of a mindfulness stress management program on stress, anxiety, depression and quality of life in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder with a significant psychological burden throughout the life course of affected women. Thus, use of mindful awareness may be beneficial as an adjunct to conventional medical management of women with PCOS. A randomized, controlled trial was conducted at the Evgenideion Hospital of the Athens University Medical School to explore the impact of an 8-week mindfulness stress management program on measures of depression, anxiety and stress as well as on the quality of life in reproductive age women with PCOS. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee. Twenty-three and 15 women with PCOS were randomly allocated to the intervention or control group, respectively. All participants were administered DASS21, PSS-14, PCOSQ, Daily Life and General Life Satisfaction Questionnaires and provided three-timed daily samples of salivary cortisol, before and after the intervention. Intervention group participants were provided with the Credibility/Expectancy Questionnaire at the day of enrolment, to check for possible placebo effect on the outcome. Post-intervention, between-group results revealed statistically significant reductions in stress, depressive and anxiety symptoms, as well as in salivary cortisol concentrations, along with an increase in Life Satisfaction and Quality of Life scores in the intervention group only. There was no significant "placebo" effect on the outcome measures. Mindfulness techniques seem promising in ameliorating stress, anxiety, depression and the quality of life in women with PCOS and could be used as an adjunct method to the conventional management of these women.

Evaluation of affective temperament and anxiety–depression levels of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome

“…It is also difficult to make comments on patients' perceptions about their outward appearance since we did not evaluate patient cognitions in this regard. However, recently Stefanaki et al (2015), in an 8 week randomized controlled study found that mindfulness stress management programs seem promising in ameliorating stress, anxiety, depression and improving quality of life. In light of this evidence, we can conclude that patients' cognitive torsions about their appearance could cause or trigger anxiety-depressive symptoms.…”

Mindfulness‐based program for stress reduction in infertile women: Randomized controlled trial

“…Previous randomized studies with less than 15 infertile women per group have shown potential benefits of MBPs on “perceived stress” (Shahrestani, Qanbari, Nemati, & Rahbardar, ) and “rumination” (Feili, Borjali, Sohrabi, & Farrokhi, ), whereas a more robust study found increased pregnancy rate among women randomly assigned to a mind/body program during their first in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment (Domar et al, ). Stress measures have also been shown to improve after cognitive behavioral therapy in women with functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (Michopoulos, Mancini, Loucks, & Berga, ) and after a MBP in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (Stefanaki et al, ), two diagnoses that frequently overlap with infertility.…”

BDNF Val66Met, stress, and positive mothering: Differential susceptibility model of adolescent trait anxiety

“…These studies seem to suggest that detection of significant BDNF Val66Met × intervention on reducing anxiety may depend on the intervention targets. Based on the findings in this study that BDNF Val66Met modulates adolescents' susceptibility to stressful life events and mothers' warmth-reasoning, we speculate that the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism may moderate anxious youths' responses to psychotherapies involving stress management such as the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program (Hofmann, Sawyer, Witt, & Oh, 2010), which has been found can reduce subjective and physiological (cortisol concentration) stress level, and anxiety symptoms (Stefanaki et al, 2014). The BDNF Val66Met polymorphism may also modulate family-based treatments involving the enhancement of positive maternal parenting such as warmth and inductive-reasoning (Drake & Ginsburg, 2012).…”