Table 1. Characteristics of included studies for meta-analysis.
| Study | Type | N | Female (%) | Intervention | Control | Assessed Outcomes | Findings | ||
| Exp. | Control | Exp. | Control | ||||||
| Astin et al, 2003 [27] | FM | 64 | 64 | 98.40 | 100.00 | Mindfulness meditation and Qigong | Education/ support | Pain (myalgic score), symptom severity (FIQ), depression (BDI) | Significant improvement in all groups |
| Carson et al, 2010 [37] | FM | 25 | 28 | 100.00 | 100.00 | Mindfulness meditation and yoga | Wait-list | Pain (myalgic score), symptom severity (FIQ) | Greater improvement in experimental group on symptoms severity |
| Goldenberg et al, 1994 [38] | FM | 79 | 42 | 90.00 | 97.00 | Stress-reduction CBT with mindfulness | Wait list and not- interested | Pain (VAS); symptom severity (FIQ) | Greater improvement in experimental group on pain; symptom severity showed borderline greater improvement |
| Grossman et al, 2007 [39] | FM | 39 | 13 | 100.00 | 100.00 | MBSR | Education/support/r elaxation/exercise | Pain (VAS), QoL (Quality of Life Profile for the Chronically Ill), depression (HADS), anxiety (HADS) | Significantly greater improvement in experimental compared to control group on all measures |
| Schmidt et al, 2011 [40] | FM | 53 | 115 | 100.00 | 100.00 | MBSR | Active control procedure and wait list | Symptom severity (FIQ), QoL (Health Related Quality of Life Scale), depression (CES-D), anxiety (STAI) | Significant improvement in all groups |
| Sephton et al, 2007 [30] | FM | 51 | 39 | 100.00 | 100.00 | MBSR | Wait list | Depression (BDI) | Significantly greater improvement in experimental compared to control group |
| Rimes et al, 2011 [43] | CFS | 16 | 19 | 75.00 | 89.00 | MBCT | Wait list | Symptom severity (Chalder Fatigue Scale), depression (HADS), anxiety (HADS) | Significantly greater improvement in experimental compared to control group on symptom severity and depression |
| Gaylord et al, 2011 [53] | IBS | 36 | 39 | 100.00 | 100.00 | Mindfulness-based pain and stress management | Support group | Pain (abdominal pain subscale of IBS-SS), symptom severity (IBS-SS total score), QoL (IBS-QoL), depression (BSI-18), anxiety (BSI-18) | Significantly greater improvement in experimental compared to control group on symptom severity; significant improvement on the other scales only at 3 month follow up |
| Ljotsson et al, 2010 [51] | IBS | 42 | 43 | 83.00 | 86.00 | MBCT | Wait list | Pain (gastrointestinal symptom diary), symptom severity (IBS-GSS); QoL (IBS-QoL), depression (MADRS-S) | Significantly greater improvement in experimental compared to control group on all outcomes |
| Zernicke et al, 2012 [56] | IBS | 43 | 47 | 90.30 | 87.20 | MBSR | Wait list | Symptom severity (IBS-SS), QoL (IBS-QoL) | Significantly greater improvement in experimental compared to control group on symptom severity; both groups improved over time on QoL |
| Fjorback et al, 2012 [57] | S | 59 | 60 | 80.00 | 80.00 | Mindfulness therapy | Enhanced treatment as usual | Physical health (SF-36, PCS), Other health-related quality of life measures (SF-36), Illness worry (Whitely-8), Physical symptoms (SCL-90), anxiety and depression (SCL-8) | No difference between experimental and control groups |
| Sampalli et al, 2009 [59] | S | 50 | 26 | 100.00 | 100.00 | MBSR | Wait list | Symptom severity (somatization subscale of SCL-90-R), depression (SCL-90-R), anxiety (SCL-90-R) | Significant improvement in experimental group but not control group on all measures |
BDI = Beck Depression Inventory; BSI = Brief Symptom Inventory; CES-D = Center for Epidemiological Studies depression inventory; CFS = chronic fatigue syndrome; Exp. = experimental group; FIQ = Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire; FM = fibromyalgia; HADS = Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; IBS = irritable bowel syndrome; IBS-GSS = IBS Global Symptom Score; IBS-QoL = IBS Quality of Life Instrument; IBS-SS = IBS Symptom Severity scale; MADRS = Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale; N = number of participants; PCS = Physical Component Summary; S = somatization disorder; SCL-8 = Symptom Checklist; SCL-90-R = Symptom Checklist 90 Revised; SF-36 = SF-36 health survey, STAI = State Trait Anxiety Inventory, Quality of Life subscale; QoL = Quality of Life; VAS = Visual Analogue Scale.