Mindfulness meditation and improvement in depressive symptoms among Spanish- and English speaking adults: A randomized, controlled, comparative efficacy trial

Abstract

Objective Latino immigrants experience acculturative stress and increased depression risk. Mindfulness meditation improves depressive symptoms, yet the vast majority of research has focused on English speaking populations. Methods In this randomized clinical trial with 2 parallel treatment groups, adults with moderate levels of perceived stress (n = 76) were recruited from the Los Angeles community from October 2015 to March 2016, stratified into Spanish- (n = 36) and English speaking (n = 40) language groups, and randomized for 6 weeks of treatment with standardized mindful awareness practices (MAPs) or health education (HE). Main outcome measure was depressive symptoms, measured by the Beck Depression Inventory. Results Using an intent-to-treat analysis, the primary outcome, depressive symptoms as indexed by the Beck Depression Inventory, showed greater improvement in MAPs vs. HE, with a between-group post-intervention mean difference of -2.2 (95% CI -4.4 – -0.07) and effect size of 0.28; similar effect sizes were found in the the Spanish- (0.29) and English speaking (0.30) groups. MAPs showed significant improvement relative to HE on secondary outcome of mindfulness with between group difference of 10.7 (95% CI4.5–16.9), but not perceived stress. Conclusion The comparable efficacy of Spanish and English formats of mindfulness meditation in improving depressive symptoms suggests that this community based intervention may mitigate depression risk in Latino adults who are experiencing social adversity. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03545074 .

Beyond WEIRD: Associations between socioeconomic status, gender, lifetime stress exposure, and depression in Madagascar

“…Community-based group therapy has proven effective in reducing depressive symptoms and improving socioeconomic conditions in rural Uganda (Bolton et al, 2003). Another potential promising approach is mindfulness meditation, which has been shown to reduce inflammation and depressive symptoms (Black & Slavich, 2016;Black et al, 2015;Bower et al, 2014;Lopez-Maya et al, 2019; see Shields et al, 2020). Regardless of the intervention type, it will be important to ensure that the strategy used is acceptable, accessible, affordable, and scalable in a setting and country with limited resources.…”

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“…The substantial effect of MB-BP on depression symptomology is despite the presence of very low basal CESD scores in both groups. Individuals who participate in mindful awareness practices exhibit significant decreases in depression compared to individuals who participated in a health education program (Lopez-Maya, Olmstead, and Irwin 2019). Although not significant, we also observed a trend of decreased anxiety, which is often comorbid with depression (Pan et al 2015).…”

Mindfulness effects on lifestyle behavior and blood pressure: A randomized controlled trial

“…Research‐based evidence of its efficacy to improve stress, perceived stress, sleep, depression, and anxiety, as well as to promote altruism, and alter biologic outcomes such as inflammation has been previously reported. 17‐21,23 …”

“…Research-based evidence of its efficacy to improve stress, perceived stress, sleep, depression, and anxiety, as well as to promote altruism, and alter biologic outcomes such as inflammation has been previously reported. [17][18][19][20][21]23 The MARC defines mindfulness as "the moment-by-moment process of actively and openly observing one's physical, mental, and emotional experiences." The MAP classes are taught by MARC-certified instructors and are offered year-round, onsite at MARC or in other locations in the greater Los Angeles area.…”

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