Lopes Snehal, Shi Lu, Pan Xi, Gu Yian, Dengler-Crish Christine, Li Yan, Tiwari Biplav, Zhang Donglan
Department of Public Health Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA.
Department of Sociology, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas 78666, USA.
Mindfulness (N Y). 2023 Jul;14(7):1705-1717. doi: 10.1007/s12671-023-02165-w. Epub 2023 Jul 7.
We aimed to assess the association between meditation practice and cognitive function over time among middle-aged and older adults.
We included Health and Retirement Study (HRS) participants assessed for meditation practice in the year 2000 as part of the HRS alternative medicine module ( = 1,160) and were followed up for outcomes over 2000-2016 period. We examined the association between meditation ≥ twice a week vs none/less frequent practice and changes in the outcomes of recall, global cognitive function, and quantitative reasoning using generalized linear regression models. Stratified analyses among persons with/without self-reported baseline depressive symptoms were conducted to assess the link between meditation and cognitive outcomes.
Among our full study sample, meditation ≥ twice a week was not significantly associated with total recall [; 95% CI: -0.97, 0.57; = 0.61], global cognitive function [; 95% CI: -1.01, 1.12; = 0.92], and quantitative reasoning [; 95% CI: -31.27, 8.32; = 0.26]. However, among those who did not have self-reported depressive symptoms at baseline, meditation ≥ twice a week was associated with improvement in cognitive outcomes such as total recall [; 95% CI: 0.03, 0.18; = 0.01] and global cognitive function [; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.40; = 0.01] over time.
Frequent meditation practice might have a protective effect on cognitive outcomes over time, but this protection could be limited to those without self-reported baseline depressive symptoms. Future studies could incorporate more precise meditation practice assessment, investigate the effect of meditation on cognitive outcomes over time, and include more rigorous study designs with randomized group assignment.
PRE-REGISTRATION: This study is not preregistered.
我们旨在评估中年及老年成年人长期冥想练习与认知功能之间的关联。
我们纳入了健康与退休研究（HRS）的参与者，这些参与者在2000年作为HRS补充医学模块的一部分接受了冥想练习评估（n = 1,160），并在2000 - 2016年期间对其结局进行了随访。我们使用广义线性回归模型研究了每周冥想≥两次与从不/较少冥想练习之间的关联，以及回忆、整体认知功能和定量推理结局的变化。对有/无自我报告基线抑郁症状的人群进行分层分析，以评估冥想与认知结局之间的联系。
在我们的全研究样本中，每周冥想≥两次与总回忆[β = -0.20；95%置信区间：-0.97，0.57；P = 0.61]、整体认知功能[β = 0.05；95%置信区间：-1.01，1.12；P = 0.92]和定量推理[β = -11.48；95%置信区间：-31.27，8.32；P = 0.26]均无显著关联。然而，在基线时无自我报告抑郁症状的人群中，每周冥想≥两次与随时间推移总回忆[β = 0.10；95%置信区间：0.03，0.18；P = 0.01]和整体认知功能[β = 0.22；95%置信区间：0.05，0.40；P = 0.01]等认知结局的改善相关。
长期频繁冥想练习可能对认知结局具有保护作用，但这种保护可能仅限于无自我报告基线抑郁症状的人群。未来的研究可以纳入更精确的冥想练习评估，研究冥想随时间对认知结局的影响，并采用更严格的随机分组研究设计。
本研究未进行预注册。
