This study tested the efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for reducing ART symptoms and bother/distress related to ART side effects. Secondary aims were to test the impact of MBSR on medication adherence and psychological functioning.
Seventy-six people living with HIV who were actively taking ART and reported distress from ART-related side effects were randomly assigned to an MBSR program or a wait-list control (WLC) standard care condition. We measured side effects, ART adherence, perceived stress, depression, positive and negative affect, and mindfulness at three time points: baseline, three-month follow-up, and six-month follow-up. Side effects and related distress were assessed separately from other symptoms.
Compared with a WLC, participants in the MBSR condition experienced a reduction in the frequency of symptoms attributable to ARTs at three months post-intervention (mean difference = 0.33; 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 0.01, 0.66; <em>tem>(132) = 2.04, <em>Pem> = 0.044) and six months post-intervention (mean difference = 0.38; 95 % CI = 0.05, 0.71; <em>tem>(132) = 2.27, <em>Pem> = 0.025). MBSR participants also experienced a reduction in distress associated with those symptoms at three months post-intervention (mean difference = 0.47; 95 % CI = 0.003, 0.94; <em>tem>(132) = 1.99, <em>Pem> = 0.048) compared with the WLC condition.
MBSR is a promising approach for reducing HIV treatment-related side effects.