Mindfulness buffers the association of pain with depression and anxiety among people with spinal cord injury: A cross-sectional study.
Chelsea G Ratcliff, Shrasti Lohiya, Susan Robinson-Whelen and 3 others
PMID 39531687WHAT IT FOUND
Among adults with spinal cord injury and chronic pain, higher mindfulness was linked to less depression and anxiety when pain was intense.
It did not buffer stress. Pain was unexpectedly tied to higher well-being in those with high mindfulness.
Key findings
01At low mindfulness, pain intensity was positively associated with depression and anxiety; at average or high mindfulness, those associations were not significant.
02Higher mindfulness strengthened the positive association between pain intensity and positive affect and well-being.
03Mindfulness did not significantly moderate the association between pain intensity and perceived stress.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that mindfulness causes lower depression or anxiety. The analysis of baseline data was not preregistered, although the parent randomized controlled trial was preregistered. The sample was small, with 64 baseline survey completers and 60 participants included in pain-related analyses. Participants all reported pain intensity of 4 or higher, so the findings may not apply to people with spinal cord injury who have lower pain. Participants were recruited for a mindfulness or health education app trial, so they may have been more interested in or familiar with mindfulness than other people with spinal cord injury. The sample was mostly male and White/European American, which may limit how far the findings apply to other groups. The positive affect and well-being finding was unexpected and may be unstable in a small sample.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that mindfulness treatment reduces depression or anxiety in spinal cord injury. This study measured existing mindfulness at one time point in adults reporting pain of 4 or higher, and it did not test whether an intervention changes outcomes.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →