Mindfulness therapy improves mental health scores in university students

1. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, mindfulness therapy had a positive effect on scores for depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep quality in university students.

2. However, there was no significant difference in mindfulness scores between those who received mindfulness therapy and the control group.

Evidence Rating Level: 1 (Excellent)

Mental health disorders are increasingly common among university students due to factors such as stress, poor sleep quality, and more. Mindfulness therapy is a cost-effective and efficacious treatment for mental health disorders that can result in improvements in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. However, the impact of mindfulness therapy on mental health outcomes has produced inconsistent findings, with some studies finding no significant effect of the intervention on outcomes. Therefore, this study aimed to review the current evidence to evaluate the effect of mindfulness therapy on mental health in university students.

Of 1,832 identified records, 11 studies (n=1,824 participants) were included from January 1, 2018, to May 1, 2023. Studies were included if they investigated mindfulness-based interventions in university students with a relevant control group, assessed outcomes related to depression, anxiety, mindfulness, or sleep quality, and included participants aged 16 years or older with at least one indicator of emotional problems. Non-randomized controlled trials and studies with incomplete or unavailable data were excluded. The review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. The primary outcome was the effect of mindfulness therapy on depression, anxiety, stress, sleep quality, and mindfulness, determined based on the scores of several questionnaires and scales.

The results demonstrated that mindfulness therapy was associated with improved scores for depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep quality compared to the controls. However, mindfulness therapy had no significant effect on mindfulness scores in this population. An analysis of the intervention duration found that interventions lasting eight weeks or more were effective in lowering depression levels and stress. In comparison, there was no significant difference in effects on anxiety in those interventions that were less than eight weeks compared to those that were eight weeks or more. However, the review was limited by the lack of information on blinding in the included studies, making it hard to determine the study quality and risk of bias. Nonetheless, the present study demonstrated that mindfulness therapy can have several positive effects on the mental health outcomes of university students.

Click to read the study in Frontiers in Public Health

Image: PD

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