Among 1,160 middle-aged and older adults from the Health and Retirement Study, meditating at least twice a week was not associated with changes in recall, global cognitive function, or quantitative reasoning over 16 years. However, among participants without depressive symptoms at the start, frequent meditation was linked to improvements in total recall and global cognitive function over time. The findings suggest that meditation may protect cognitive function only in those without baseline depressive symptoms.
A protocol describes a planned trial testing whether mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) delivered via the web can reduce depression symptoms and psychiatric distress. The study will randomly assign 128 participants to either an 8-week web-based MBCT group plus treatment as usual or an 8-week waitlist control group. Primary outcomes are depression symptoms and psychiatric distress; secondary outcomes include perceived stress and mindfulness facets. Feasibility will be measured by adherence, retention, attendance, and engagement. As of November 2023, 30 of 224 screened participants were enrolled. Results are expected by August 2024.