Mind
fulness meditation training has stress reduction bene
fits in various patient populations, but its e
ffects on biological markers o
f HIV-1 progression are unknown. The present study tested the e
fficacy o
f an 8-week Mind
fulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) meditation program compared to a 1-day control seminar on CD4+ T lymphocyte counts in stressed HIV in
fected adults. A single-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted with enrollment and
follow-up occurring between November 2005 and December 2007. A diverse community sample o
f 48 HIV-1 in
fected adults was randomized and entered treatment in either an 8-week MBSR or a 1-day control stress reduction education seminar. The primary outcome was circulating counts o
f CD4+ T lymphocytes. Participants in the 1-day control seminar showed declines in CD4+ T lymphocyte counts whereas counts among participants in the 8-week MBSR program were unchanged
from baseline to post-intervention (time × treatment condition interaction, p = .02). This e
ffect was independent o
f antiretroviral (ARV) medication use. Additional analyses indicated that treatment adherence to the mind
fulness meditation program, as measured by class attendance, mediated the e
ffects o
f mind
fulness meditation training on bu
ffering CD4+ T lymphocyte declines. These
findings provide an initial indication that mind
fulness meditation training can bu
ffer CD4+ T lymphocyte declines in HIV-1 in
fected adults.
Clinical Trials Registration: clinicaltrials.gov, Identifier: NCT00600561.