Does mindfulness have an effect on PTSD-symptoms in veterans?

Abstract

Background: Veterans have an increased risk of being exposed to traumatic events compared to the general population and may develop PTSD. Although there are many established treatments that are evidence based, the prognosis for veterans remains poor, highlighting the demand for optional treatment. Therefore, the primary objective of this thesis is to examine the efficacy of the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention as a potential treatment for PTSD in veterans.

Material and method: I have conducted a review study by employing a comprehensive search in three central databases: Medline, Embase and PsykInfo. The systematic search encompassed RCTs that compared a MBSR intervention to a control intervention on the effect on PTSD in veterans.

Results: Among 63 articles, only 37 was screened further due to duplicates and the selection process led to nine RCTs that met the inclusion criteria. Overall, MBSR demonstrates a decrease in PTSD-symptoms in veterans post-intervention and the improvements were demonstrated to be persistent about 4 to 12 months follow-up time. Compared to a control intervention it was found to be more effective than psychoeducation, PCGT, and TAU in reducing PTSD symptoms. Mindfulness integrated into cognitive therapy was also found to be superior to SSRI alone. However, results regarding the superiority of MBSR over PCGT are uncertain.

Interpretation: This review study supports the effectiveness of MBSR as a treatment for PTSD in veterans based on nine randomized controlled trials (RCTs). However, more research is needed to confirm its effectiveness and superiority over other treatments.