Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Western University, London N6A 5 W9, ON, Canada.
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2014 Aug 19;14:307. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-14-307.
The prevalence and socioeconomic cost of late life depression (LLD) is on the rise, while the response rate to antidepressant trials remains poor. Various mind-body therapies are being embraced by patients as they are considered safe and potentially effective, yet little is known regarding the effectiveness of such therapies to improve LLD symptoms. Among the mind-body therapies currently in practice, the results of our pilot study have shown that a particular meditation technique called Sahaj Samadhi Meditation, which belongs to the category of meditation termed automatic self-transcending meditation (ASTM) may have some promise in improving cardiovascular autonomic disturbances associated with LLD as well as ameliorating symptoms of depression and anxiety.
METHODS/DESIGN: Patients between the ages of 60 and 85 with LLD will be randomized either to ASTM plus treatment as usual (TAU) or TAU alone to assess changes in cardiovascular autonomic parameters, neuropsychological symptoms of depression and anxiety as well as quality of life. The instructional phase of the intervention consists of 4 consecutive days of meditation training, after which participants are encouraged to meditate twice daily for twenty minutes each time at home. The intervention also includes once weekly follow up sessions for the subsequent 11 weeks. The planned study has one and a half year recruitment period. Participants will be assessed at baseline and at 4, 8, 12 and 24 weeks post intervention.
This study should provide a unique data source from a randomized, controlled, longitudinal trial to investigate the effects of a form of ASTM on cardiovascular autonomic and neuropsychological health in LLD.
Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02149810, date registered: 05/28/2014.
老年期抑郁症（LLD）的患病率和社会经济成本呈上升趋势，而抗抑郁药试验的反应率仍然较差。各种身心疗法正被患者所接受，因为它们被认为是安全且可能有效的，但对于这些疗法改善 LLD 症状的有效性知之甚少。在目前实践中的身心疗法中，我们的初步研究结果表明，一种特殊的冥想技术，称为 Sahaj Samadhi 冥想，属于自动自我超越冥想（ASTM）的范畴，可能在改善与 LLD 相关的心血管自主障碍以及改善抑郁和焦虑症状方面具有一定的潜力。
方法/设计：年龄在 60 至 85 岁之间的 LLD 患者将被随机分配到 ASTM 加常规治疗（TAU）或 TAU 组，以评估心血管自主参数、抑郁和焦虑的神经心理学症状以及生活质量的变化。干预的指导阶段包括连续 4 天的冥想训练，之后鼓励参与者在家中每天两次冥想，每次 20 分钟。该干预还包括随后的 11 周每周一次的随访。计划的研究有一年半的招募期。参与者将在基线和干预后 4、8、12 和 24 周进行评估。
这项研究应该从随机、对照、纵向试验中提供独特的数据源，以调查一种 ASTM 形式对 LLD 心血管自主和神经心理学健康的影响。
Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02149810，注册日期：2014 年 5 月 28 日。
