Table 1.
Study characteristics.
| Items | Count |
|---|---|
| N. of RCT | 104 |
| N. of participants (female) | 10,139 (7022) |
| Mean N. of participant (the number ± SD) | 97.3 ± 71.4 |
| Mean age (year ± SD) A | 47.6 ± 13.1 |
| Mean treatment period (week ± SD) | 10.3 ± 9.1 |
| Disorders of the participants (N. of RCT, %) | 104 (100) |
| Cancer | 16 (15.4) |
| Diseases of the musculoskeletal and connective tissues | 14 (13.5) |
| Affective mood disorder | 13 (12.5) |
| Disease of the nervous system | 9 (8.7) |
| Disease of the circulatory system | 7 (6.7) |
| Gynecological disorder | 7 (6.7) |
| Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 7 (6.7) |
| Metabolic disorder | 6 (5.8) |
| Disease of otorhinolaryngology | 5 (4.8) |
| Others | 20 (19.2) |
| Type of meditation B (N. of RCTs, %) | |
| Mindfulness-based meditation | 51 (49.0) |
| Yoga-based meditation | 32 (30.8) |
| Transcendental meditation | 14 (13.5) |
| Others | 11 (10.6) |
| Main clinical outcomes B, C (N. of RCTs, %) | |
| Mean N. of measurements per RCT (the number ± SD) | 3.9 ± 2.5 |
| Depressive mood | 56 (53.8) |
| Feeling anxious | 40 (38.5) |
| Quality of life (QoL) | 32 (30.8) |
| Stress | 31 (29.8) |
| Sleep | 23 (22.1) |
| Pain | 22 (21.2) |
| Fatigue | 19 (18.3) |
A This is the mean of the participants’ ages presented as the median or mean in the original articles. B These items have been applied multiple times, thus the sum of percentages is larger than 100%. C These items shown in the table are the most frequently used in RCTs.