Mindfulness training may improve immune function in lonely older adults, according to a new study from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. The study, which was funded by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, was published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

Loneliness is a significant problem among older adults and a powerful psychosocial stressor that elevates the risks to health and for premature death in this population. As one effect, loneliness can speed up the decline in immune system functioning that happens as people age. This latest research suggests that mindfulness interventions can increase immune function in older adults with chronic loneliness, a potent stressor.

Meditation has a history that goes back thousands of years, and many meditative techniques began in Eastern traditions like formal meditation as well as active meditations in motion like tai chi and yoga. Some types of meditation involve keeping the mental focus on a particular sensation or a repeated word or phrase. Others include the practice of mindfulness, which involves keeping attention or awareness of the present moment and the activity at hand without making judgments.

Here are 8 things to know about what the science says about meditation and mindfulness for health:

1. Mindfulness-based practices may be helpful for anxiety and depression. They are better than no treatment at all, and they may work as well as established evidence-based therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy.
2. Studies that looked at the effects of meditation or mindfulness on pain have had mixed results. The evidence for a beneficial effect on chronic pain is better than the evidence for an effect on acute pain.
3. Mindfulness meditation practices may reduce insomnia and improve sleep quality. Their effects are comparable to those of cognitive behavioral therapy or exercise.
4. Meditation and mindfulness may reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In one study in veterans, meditation was as helpful as prolonged exposure therapy, a widely accepted treatment for PTSD.
5. Mindfulness-based practices may help people recover from substance use disorders. These practices have been used to help people increase their awareness of the thoughts and feelings that trigger cravings and learn ways to reduce their automatic reactions to cravings.
6. Mindfulness-based approaches may improve mental health in people with cancer. Most of the people studied have been women with breast cancer; effects might be different in other groups of people.
7. Studies have suggested possible benefits of meditation and mindfulness programs for losing weight and managing eating behaviors. Programs that combine formal meditation and mindfulness practices with informal mindfulness exercises seem especially promising.
8. Meditation and mindfulness practices are usually considered to have few risks, but some people do have negative experiences with these practices. In an analysis of studies on more than 6,000 people, about 8 percent of participants reported negative effects—most commonly, anxiety or depression—which is similar to the percentage reported for psychological therapies.

Read more about the latest research on mindfulness meditation and immune function in older adults

In the latest study from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University was published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.The study participants were 190 generally healthy adults aged 65 to 85 who had moderate-to-high levels of loneliness (as measured with the UCLA Loneliness Scale) and did not have previous meditation experience. They were randomized to receive 8 weeks of instruction and practice in either a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program or a health enhancement program (HEP) that was structured similarly but did not include any mindfulness training. Both programs included eight 2-hour group sessions, one day-long retreat, and home practice assignments. Assessment was done before and after the intervention and (in a subgroup) at a 3-month follow-up; it consisted of blood draws, questionnaires, and ambulatory assessments. 

The key question was whether MBSR stimulated production of interleukin-6 (IL-6), a measure of the immune system’s responsivity. To study this, the researchers examined the IL-6 response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS, a toxin present in certain bacteria) in blood samples from the study participants. LPS-stimulated IL-6 production is one of many markers of immune system function that decline with age and psychosocial stress.

The authors found that MBSR significantly increased stimulated IL-6 production in response to LPS at the post-intervention and 3-month follow-up points, compared with HEP. The HEP group also showed some increase on this measure, but to a lesser extent and only at 3-month follow-up. The findings suggest that mindfulness interventions can increase inflammatory responsivity in older adults with chronic loneliness, a potent stressor. This effect could have benefits, for example, to injury recovery and infection risk. 

The study’s limitations included that the stimulation of IL-6 response in the study does not fully mimic the complexity of the inflammatory response in vivo. Further research is needed, including on whether these results translate to meaningful health outcomes and persist beyond 3 months after the end of a mindfulness training program. 

Reference

• Lindsay EK, Creswell JD, Stern HJ, et al. Mindfulness-based stress reduction increases stimulated IL-6 production among lonely older adults: a randomized controlled trial. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 2022;104:6-15.

Additional Resources

Meditation and Mindfulness: What You Need To Know

8 Things to Know About Meditation and Mindfulness

Publication Date: May 10, 2022Share

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