Online Mindfulness Program Reduces Dyspnea in Patients with Interstitial Lung Disease
An 8-week online mindfulness-based intervention (eMBI) program significantly reduced dyspnea in nearly half of patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) compared with standard care. However, improvements in cough-related quality of life and psychological distress were not statistically significant.
Conducted as a prospective, open-label, controlled trial at a public university hospital in Brazil, the study evaluated the impact of mindfulness training on breathlessness and quality of life in patients with ILD.
“Dyspnea is a common and distressing symptom in ILD patients and can lead to inactivity, deterioration of muscle mass and deconditioning which, in turn, can result in increased discomfort,” the study authors wrote.
The trial included 54 participants aged 18 and older with a modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnea scale score of at least one. Patients were randomized into either the eMBI group or a control group, both of which received standard treatment, with only the eMBI group undergoing weekly online mindfulness sessions. The primary outcome was a reduction in dyspnea as measured by the mMRC scale.
Results showed a significantly higher proportion of patients in the eMBI group experienced improvement in dyspnea compared to the control group (48.9% vs. 15.4%; P = 0.001). However, secondary outcomes, including measures of cough-related quality of life, overall health status, and psychological distress, showed no statistically significant differences between groups.
The study’s limitations include its single-center setting, small sample size, and the use of the mMRC scale, which may not be the most sensitive tool for detecting changes in dyspnea.
“Our findings demonstrated a great proportion of patients with a reduction in dyspnea in the Mindfulness group when compared to the control,” the study authors concluded. “Further research is needed to confirm these findings in a larger, multicenter study.”
Resource
Miranda SMD, Cunha Paiva SP, Pereira LFF, et al. Online Mindfulness-Based Intervention (eMBI) in management of dyspnea in patients with interstitial lung disease: A randomized clinical trial. Complement Ther Med. 2024;87:103106. doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2024.103106