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Investigating the Effect of Mindfulness Training on Heart Rate Variability in Mental Health Outpatients: A Pilot Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2014

Alexis Wheeler ,
Linley Denson ,
Chris Neil ,
Graeme Tucker ,
Maura Kenny ,
John F. Beltrame ,
Geoffrey Schrader  and
Michael Proeve
Alexis Wheeler
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Linley Denson
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Chris Neil
Affiliation:
Discipline of Medicine, The University of Adelaide, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Campus, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Graeme Tucker
Affiliation:
Department of Health, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Discipline of Medicine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Maura Kenny
Affiliation:
The Centre for Treatment of Anxiety and Depression, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
John F. Beltrame
Affiliation:
Discipline of Medicine, The University of Adelaide, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Campus, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Geoffrey Schrader
Affiliation:
Discipline of Psychiatry, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Michael Proeve*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Dr Michael Proeve, The University of Adelaide, School of Psychology, Level 4, Hughes Building, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide SA 5005, Australia. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Depression is associated with increased cardiac morbidity and mortality in people with and without cardiac risk factors, and this relationship is, in part, mediated by heart rate variability (HRV). Increased heart rate and reduced HRV are common in depressed patients, which may explain their higher cardiac risk. This pilot study investigated whether mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) promoted objective changes in (1) HRV, and (2) depressive symptoms and quality of life, in mental health outpatients. Twenty-seven adults meeting criteria for DSM-IV Axis I disorders completed an 8-week MBCT program. Data were collected on three occasions, 8 weeks apart; twice before and once after MBCT. Participants completed the Short Form-36 and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) at each test period. Heart rate and HRV were measured during electrocardiographic monitoring before and after a cognitive stressor. At baseline, 78% of participants met criteria for depression (CES-D ≥16). Multivariate analyses revealed a significant treatment effect for SF-36 physical summary score and depression (as a dichotomous variable), but not for HRV. This pilot study highlights the immediate psychological and health benefits of MBCT. Low power may have influenced the lack of a finding of an association between HRV and MBCT. However, the feasibility of the study design has been established, and supports the need for larger and longer-term studies of the potential physiological benefits of MBCT for cardiac health.

Keywords

mindfulnessheart rate variabilitydepressionquality of lifeanxietypsychiatric
Type
Standard Papers
Information
Behaviour Change , Volume 31 , Issue 3 , September 2014 , pp. 175 - 188
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Australian Academic Press Pty Ltd 2014 

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