The empirical support for mindfulness-based interventions for common psychiatric disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have become widely used for common mental disorders (CMDs) but the state of the evidence has not been sufficiently investigated. The aims for this study were: (1) to quantify the effect size of MBIs for CMDs in the acute phase; (2) to explore moderator variables; and (3) to evaluate the evidence status of MBIs for the CMDs it has been tried for. A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were conducted. RCTs that evaluated MBI and included patients with a primary manifest CMD was included. Methodological quality, the risk of bias, publication bias and evidence status were assessed. Literature searches gave 2448 hits and 19 studies were included. MBIs were more effective than no treatment (g = 1.07) and treatment-as-usual (g = 0.40) but not in comparison to placebo (g = 0.17) or other active treatments (g = −0.01). Methodological quality was negatively correlated with outcome. For all psychiatric disorders it has been tested, MBIs were judged to have weak or no empirical support. The conclusion of the study is that the evidence-base for MBIs for CMDs in the acute phase is weak.