Effect of Meditation on Endothelial Function in Black Americans With Metabolic Syndrome: A Randomized Trial

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Viola Vaccarino, Emory University; Kofi A. Kondwani, Morehouse School of Medicine; Mary Kelley, Emory University; Nancy V. Murrah, Emory University; Linda Boyd, Morehouse School of Medicine; Yusuf Ahmed, Emory University; Yuan X. Meng, Morehouse School of Medicine; Gary H. Gibbons, Morehouse School of Medicine; W. Craig Hooper, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Christine De Staercke, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Arshed Quyyumi, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2013-07-01
• Publisher: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: Copyright © 2013 by the American Psychosomatic Society.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0b013e31829ac4f4
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Psychosomatic Medicine
• ISSN: 0033-3174
• Volume: 75
• Issue: 6
• Start Page: 591
• End Page: 599
• Grant/Funding Information: This study was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute U01 HL079156 and U01 HL79214; NIH, National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) Grant M01-RR00039 for the Emory General Clinical Research Center; NIH/NCRR 5P20RR11104 for the Morehouse Clinical Research Center; and NIH K24HL077506.
• Keywords: Science & Technology; DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS; DENSITY-LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL; Social Sciences; TRANSCENDENTAL-MEDITATION; MENTAL STRESS; Endothelium; CORONARY-HEART-DISEASE; stress; Psychiatry; ATHEROSCLEROSIS RISK; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Psychology; INSULIN-RESISTANCE; Psychology, Multidisciplinary; obesity; metabolic syndrome; WHITE ADULTS; AMBULATORY BLOOD-PRESSURE; AFRICAN-AMERICAN
• Research Categories: Biology, Biostatistics; Health Sciences, Epidemiology; Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Psychological stress may play a role in metabolic syndrome. A consequence of metabolic syndrome is endothelial dysfunction, which is also influenced by psychological stress. We sought to compare the effect of consciously resting meditation (CRM), a sound based meditation, with a control intervention of health education (HE) on endothelial function in the setting of metabolic syndrome. METHODS: Sixty-eight black Americans with metabolic syndrome risk factors (age, 30-65 years) were randomized to either CRM (n = 33) or HE (n = 35); interventions were matched for frequency and duration of sessions and lasted 12 months. Endothelial function was assessed by brachial artery flow-mediated dilation at baseline and at 6 and 12 months. Arterial elasticity, metabolic risk factors, and psychosocial and behavioral variables were secondary end points. RESULTS: Although flow-mediated dilation improved in the CRM group for 12 months, this increase was not significantly higher than that in the HE group (p = .51 for the interaction between group and time). Non-endothelium- dependent dilation and arterial elasticity did not change in either group. Most metabolic syndrome risk factors showed beneficial trends in the CRM group only. A risk factor score counting the number of metabolic syndrome components decreased in the CRM group only (p = .049 for the interaction between treatment group and time). CONCLUSIONS: Among black Americans with metabolic syndrome risk factors, CRM, did not improve endothelial function significantly more than a control intervention of HE. CRM resulted in favorable trends in metabolic syndrome risk factors, which were examined as secondary outcomes.