Detached mindfulness reduced both depression and anxiety in elderly women with major depressive disorders

Mohammad Ahmadpanah; Tayebe Akbari; Amineh Akhondi; Mohammad Haghighi; Leila Jahangard; Dena Sadeghi Bahmani; Hafez Bajoghli; Edith Holsboer-Trachsler; Serge Brand

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2017.07.030

Detached mindfulness reduced both depression and anxiety in elderly women with major depressive disorders

Psychiatry Res. 2017 Nov:257:87-94. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.07.030. Epub 2017 Jul 15.

Authors

Mohammad Ahmadpanah¹, Tayebe Akbari², Amineh Akhondi³, Mohammad Haghighi¹, Leila Jahangard¹, Dena Sadeghi Bahmani⁴, Hafez Bajoghli⁵, Edith Holsboer-Trachsler⁴, Serge Brand⁶

Affiliations

¹ Behavioral Disorders and Substances Abuse Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
² White Jasmine Adult Nursing Home. Hamadan, Iran.
³ Hamadan Educational Organization, Ministry of Education. Hamadan, Iran.
⁴ Psychiatric Clinics of the University of Basel, Center for Affective, Stress und Sleep Disorders, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
⁵ Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies (INCAS), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁶ Psychiatric Clinics of the University of Basel, Center for Affective, Stress und Sleep Disorders, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, Division of Sport and Psychosocial Health, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Sleep Disorders Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Kermanshah, Iran. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 28735173
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.07.030

Abstract

We investigated the influence of detached mindfulness (DM) in treating symptoms of depression and anxiety among elderly women. Thirty-four elderly females (mean age: 69.23 years) suffering from moderate major depressive disorders (MDD) and treated with a standard medication (citalopram) at therapeutic doses were randomly assigned either to an intervention condition (DM; group treatment, twice weekly) or to a control condition (with leisure activities, twice weekly). At baseline (BL), four weeks later at study completion (SC), and four weeks after that at follow-up (FU), participants completed ratings for symptoms of depression and anxiety; experts blind to patients' group assignments rated patients' symptoms of depression. Symptoms of depression (self and experts' ratings) and anxiety declined significantly over time in the DM, but not in the control condition. Effects remained stable at FU. The pattern of results suggests that, compared to a control condition, a specific psychotherapeutic intervention such as DM can have a beneficial effect in elderly female patients with MDD.

Keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Elderly; Healthy controls; Metacognitive detached mindfulness.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

Age Factors
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Anxiety / diagnosis
Anxiety / psychology
Anxiety / therapy*
Depression / diagnosis
Depression / psychology
Depression / therapy*
Depressive Disorder, Major / diagnosis
Depressive Disorder, Major / psychology
Depressive Disorder, Major / therapy*
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Mindfulness / methods*
Single-Blind Method