ArticleJournal of consulting and clinical psychology2016
Brief mindfulness training reduces salivary IL-6 and TNF-α in young women with depressive symptomatology.
Article in Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 71 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions on inflammaging: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Biogerontology · 2025Pooled it
- Only Small Effects of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Biomarker Levels of Inflammation and Stress: A Preregistered Systematic Review and Two Three-Level Meta-Analyses.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Inflammation and depression in young people: a systematic review and proposed inflammatory pathways.Molecular psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Biomarkers and Low-Grade Inflammation in Patients with Psychiatric Disorders: A Meta-Analytic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2020Pooled it
- Trial
- Facets of mindfulness are associated with inflammation biomarkers in a sample of sexual minority men with HIV.Psychology, health & medicine · 2025Trial
- Effects of Meditation and Yoga on Anxiety, Depression and Chronic Inflammation in Patients with Parkinson's Disease: A Randomized Clinical Trial.Psychotherapy and psychosomatics · 2025Trial
- Effectiveness of Aerobic Exercise and Tai Chi Interventions on Sleep Quality in Patients With Advanced Lung Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA oncology · 2024Trial
- Efficacy of a transdiagnostic, prevention-focused program for at-risk young adults: a waitlist-controlled trial.Psychological medicine · 2023Trial
- Results of the Optimune trial: A randomized controlled trial evaluating a novel Internet intervention for breast cancer survivors.PloS one · 2021Trial
- Immune dysregulation among students exposed to exam stress and its mitigation by mindfulness training: findings from an exploratory randomised trial.Scientific reports · 2020Trial
- Mindfulness improves inflammatory biomarker levels in older adults with mild cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled trial.Translational psychiatry · 2020Trial
- Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor and microRNA-451a in Response to Mindfulness-based Therapy or Treatment as Usual in Patients with Depression, Anxiety, or Stress and Adjustment Disorders.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2018Trial
- Optimal doses of mind-body exercise on neuroinflammation in individuals with neuropsychiatric disorders: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026Article
- Metabolic profiling reveals potential biomarkers and underlying signaling pathways involved in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy-improved adolescent depression symptoms.EXCLI journal · 2026Article
- Coordination of inflammatory and adrenocortical stress response during pregnancy and variation by mental health.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2025Article
- Impact of Brief Mindfulness Intervention on Emotions, Sleep and Quality of Life in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Prospective Study.Neurology and therapy · 2025Article
- Inflammation in Neuronal Intranuclear Inclusion Disease (NIID): mechanisms, biomarkers, and therapeutic implications.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2025Review
- Mobile application leads to psychological improvement and correlated neuroimmune function change in subjective cognitive decline.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- The Effectiveness of a Race-Based Stress Reduction Intervention on Improving Stress-Related Symptoms and Inflammation in African American Women at Risk for Cardiometabolic Disease: Protocol for Recruitment and Intervention for a Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivePro-inflammatory cytokines have been implicated in the pathophysiology and maintenance of depression. This study investigated the effects of a brief mindfulness intervention on salivary pro-inflammatory correlates of depression (IL-6, TNF-α) and self-reported symptoms of depression in college women.
methodsSixty-four females with a cut score of ≥16 on the Center for Epidemiological Studies for Depression Scale (CES-D) were assigned to a 4-week mindfulness-based intervention (MBI; N = 31) or a contact-control group (N = 33). For both groups, salivary cytokines and depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline and posttreatment. For the mindfulness group only, salivary cytokines were also assessed at a 3-month follow-up.
resultsBoth groups showed similar reductions in depression. However, MBI (vs. control) predicted greater reductions in IL-6 and TNF-α; changes in IL-6 were sustained at 3-month follow-up. Higher baseline depressive symptoms predicted greater reductions in inflammation in the mindfulness group.
conclusionMBIs may reduce inflammatory immune markers commonly implicated in depression. Individuals with greater depressive symptoms may benefit more from mindfulness training. Although reductions in salivary cytokines in the mindfulness condition were not attributable to changes in depressive symptoms, future work should examine the possibility that such reductions are protective against the development of future depressive episodes. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.