Sustained Effects of a Mindfulness-Based Stress-Reduction Intervention in Type 2 Diabetic Patients: Design and first results of a randomized controlled trial (the Heidelberger Diabetes and Stress-Study)

Mechthild Hartmann; Stefan Kopf; Claudia Kircher; Verena Faude-Lang; Zdenka Djuric; Florian Augstein; Hans-Christoph Friederich; Meinhard Kieser; Angelika Bierhaus; Per M. Humpert; Wolfgang Herzog; Peter P. Nawroth

doi:10.2337/dc11-1343

Original Research

Sustained Effects of a Mindfulness-Based Stress-Reduction Intervention in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Design and first results of a randomized controlled trial (the Heidelberger Diabetes and Stress-Study)

Mechthild Hartmann, MSC¹ ⇓,
Stefan Kopf, MD²,
Claudia Kircher, MD²,
Verena Faude-Lang, MD¹,³,
Zdenka Djuric, MD²,
Florian Augstein²,
Hans-Christoph Friederich, MD¹,
Meinhard Kieser, PHD⁴,
Angelika Bierhaus, PHD²,
Per M. Humpert, MD²,
Wolfgang Herzog, MD¹ and
Peter P. Nawroth, MD²

¹Department of Medicine II and Psychosomatics, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
²Department of Medicine I and Clinical Chemistry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
³Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
⁴Institute of Medical Biometry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

Corresponding author: Mechthild Hartmann, mechthild.hartmann{at}med.uni-heidelberg.de.

M.H., S.K., and C.K. contributed equally to this study.

Diabetes Care 2012 May; 35(5): 945-947. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc11-1343

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To determine whether a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention is effective for reducing psychosocial distress (i.e., depression, psychosocial stress) and the progression of nephropathy (i.e., albuminuria) and for improving the subjective health status of patients with type 2 diabetes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Patients with type 2 diabetes and microalbuminuria were randomized to a mindfulness-based intervention (n = 53) or a treatment-as-usual control (n = 57) group. The study is designed to investigate long-term outcomes over a period of 5 years. We present data up to the first year of follow-up (FU).

RESULTS At FU, the MBSR group showed lower levels of depression (d = 0.71) and improved health status (d = 0.54) compared with the control group. No significant differences in albuminuria were found. Per-protocol analysis also showed higher stress reduction in the intervention group (d = 0.64).

CONCLUSIONS MBSR intervention achieved a prolonged reduction in psychosocial distress. The effects on albuminuria will be followed up further.

Footnotes

Clinical trial reg. no. NCT00263419, clinicaltrials.gov.
This article contains Supplementary Data online at http://care.diabetesjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.2337/dc11-1343/-/DC1.

Received July 17, 2011.
Accepted January 9, 2012.

Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ for details.

View Full Text