University Family Medicine Center, King Saud University Medical City, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
PLoS One. 2023 Oct 31;18(10):e0293539. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293539. eCollection 2023.
There is growing interest in Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program to combat mental distress in medical students. In Saudi Arabia, literature is insufficient about MBSR and its effectiveness. This study aims to measure the effectiveness of MBSR in improving mindful state, stress, anxiety, and depression in medical students. Also, the study explores the association between the attendance rate of MBSR sessions and its effectiveness. Lastly, the study examines gender differences in response to MBSR.
This is a stratified randomized controlled study of 84 medical students from two medical schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They were recruited voluntarily from November 2018 to April 2021, and allocated to MBSR and waitlist groups using a stratified randomization method based on gender. MBSR group received eight weeks of sessions through audiovisual materials. An online survey utilizing validated questionnaires assessing stress, mindfulness, anxiety, and depression was used to evaluate both groups pre-program (time 0), post-program (time 1), and three months later (time 2).
Seventy-one participants completed the post-test (time 1). There were no differences between study groups at time 0 and 1. However, in 41 subjects who completed the follow-up test (time 2), the anxiety dropped significantly in MBSR group (mean difference (MD), -3.935; 95% CI, -7.580 to -0.290). Furthermore, attending more MBSR sessions was inversely correlated with depression (r, -0.556; P, 0.002), and anxiety (r, -0.630; P, 0.000). Compared to their baseline, males in MBSR group improved in stress (MD, 3.08; 95% CI, 0.30 to 5.86), anxiety (MD, 4.91; 95% CI, 3.32 to 6.50), and mindfulness (MD, -0.58; 95% CI, -1.01 to -0.15), while females improved in stress (MD, 2.64; 95% CI, 0.02 to 5.26).
Despite the study being interrupted by the stressful COVID-19 outbreak, the findings suggest that MBSR improved psychological outcomes when participants commit to the program.
正念减压（MBSR）课程越来越受到关注，以减轻医学生的精神困扰。在沙特阿拉伯，关于 MBSR 及其效果的文献还不够丰富。本研究旨在衡量 MBSR 对改善医学生的正念状态、压力、焦虑和抑郁的有效性。此外，本研究还探讨了 MBSR 课程出勤率与其有效性之间的关系。最后，本研究考察了 MBSR 对不同性别反应的差异。
这是一项在沙特阿拉伯利雅得的两所医学院招募的 84 名医学生的分层随机对照研究。他们于 2018 年 11 月至 2021 年 4 月自愿参加研究，并采用基于性别的分层随机方法将他们分配到 MBSR 和候补组。MBSR 组通过视听材料接受八周的课程。利用经过验证的评估压力、正念、焦虑和抑郁的问卷对两组进行在线调查，分别在项目前（时间 0）、项目后（时间 1）和三个月后（时间 2）进行评估。
71 名参与者完成了后测（时间 1）。在时间 0 和 1 时，研究组之间没有差异。然而，在完成随访测试（时间 2）的 41 名受试者中，MBSR 组的焦虑显著下降（平均差异（MD），-3.935；95%置信区间，-7.580 至 -0.290）。此外，参加更多的 MBSR 课程与抑郁（r，-0.556；P，0.002）和焦虑（r，-0.630；P，0.000）呈负相关。与基线相比，MBSR 组的男性在压力（MD，3.08；95%置信区间，0.30 至 5.86）、焦虑（MD，4.91；95%置信区间，3.32 至 6.50）和正念（MD，-0.58；95%置信区间，-1.01 至 -0.15）方面有所改善，而女性在压力（MD，2.64；95%置信区间，0.02 至 5.26）方面有所改善。
尽管该研究因压力巨大的 COVID-19 疫情而中断，但研究结果表明，当参与者承诺参加该项目时，MBSR 改善了心理健康结果。
