Mindfulness and acceptance may help quality of life in people with MS

The review

1. 01

   Who took part

   The 18 studies had 24 to 150 people each, all with multiple sclerosis. On average they were about 42 years old, and about 79 in 100 were women.

2. 02

   What they did

   Most programmes had 8 weekly sessions, mostly in groups, built on mindfulness and acceptance, with practice at home. The other groups got usual care, waited, or did a similar activity.

3. 03

   What happened

   Compared with other groups, quality of life and attention improved at the end, and quality of life more later on. Coping improved at the end but not later, and memory improved a lot in 3 studies, but this was very unsure. Mindfulness did not clearly change; 11 of 18 studies had unclear bias risk, and none checked for missing studies.

What the review found

1. HelpedOther outcomes

   In 12 studies, mindfulness and acceptance courses helped quality of life more than other groups at the end.

   • Action: Practise mindfulnesstested
   • Rule: Practise with a groupused

   Pooled analysis of 12 studies with 547 people · vs people on usual care, waiting, or doing a similar activity · they rated themselves · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited

2. HelpedOther outcomes

   Later on, mindfulness and acceptance courses helped quality of life more than other groups did.

   • Action: Practise mindfulnesstested
   • Rule: Practise with a groupused

   Pooled analysis of 7 studies with 390 people · vs people on usual care, waiting, or doing a similar activity · they rated themselves · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited

3. HelpedFocus

   In 4 studies, mindfulness and acceptance courses helped people focus more than other groups at the end.

   • Action: Practise mindfulnesstested
   • Rule: Practise with a groupused

   Pooled analysis of 4 studies with 170 people · vs people on usual care, waiting, or doing a similar activity · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited

Source