SynthesisPloS one2023
The effect of mindfulness interventions on stress in medical students: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The effectiveness of interventions designed to enhance and maintain medical student wellbeing: a systematic review.BMC medical education · 2026Pooled it
- Online and traditional mindfulness-based interventions for stress in university students: a systematic review and meta-analysis versus control conditions.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Comparing the effects of sitting meditation and body scan on working memory in undergraduate healthcare students: a single-blind randomised trial.BMC psychology · 2026Trial
- Hypnosis reshapes multilevel stress response and enhances executive performance in stressed medical students.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Perceived Suitability for Being a Dental Hygienist and Self-Compassion: A 6-Month Longitudinal Cohort Study.Journal of dental education · 2026Article
- Article
- Article
- Medical student syndrome-like symptoms: prevalence, correlates, and perceived impact among medical students at Thamar University, Yemen.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Psychological Stress in Medical Students: A Systematic Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Perceived Stress and Subjective Happiness in Medical Students Before and After a Wellness Speaker Session.Cureus · 2026Article
- Yoga-based meditation improves self-regulation and well-being in medical students: a pilot study.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Article
- Are future physicians practicing safe caffeine consumption? A structured narrative review of caffeine and energy drink use among medical students.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Article
- Lifestyle, Volition, and Well-Being Among Medical and Non-Medical University Students: A Preliminary Study.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The Urgency of Stress Reduction Amongst Medical Students: Is Therapeutic Touch the Answer? A Literature Review on Therapeutic Touch in Students and Healthcare Personnel.Medical science educator · 2025Review
- Developing a mindfulness program for pre-clinical medical students in Indonesia: a mixed-methods study on suitability and appropriateness.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Effectiveness of Frequency-Specific Microcurrent (FSM) Therapy and Relaxation in Adults with Distress: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Determining the influence of an intervention of stress management on medical students' levels of psychophysiological stress: the protocol of the PROMESS-Stress clinical trial.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Evaluating burnout syndrome among medical students at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Targeted mindfulness and self-compassion improve long-term stress reduction in distance learning students: a randomized trial.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMedical students have high levels of stress, which is associated with higher incidents of burnout, depression, and suicide compared to age-matched peers. Mindfulness practices have been shown to reduce stress among medical students. PURPOSE: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine if mindfulness interventions have an overall effect on stress outcomes in the high-stress population of medical students globally, particularly given the wide variety of interventions. Any intervention designed to promote mindfulness was included.
methodsA comprehensive literature search was completed to include multiple databases, ancestry, and hand-searching and 35 studies were included. Standardized mean difference effect sizes (ES) were synthesized across studies using a random-effects model for changes in stress levels in medical students ≥ 18. Moderator analyses were performed to explore variations in effects by participant and intervention characteristics.
resultsMindfulness interventions significantly improved stress among medical students in both the two-arm studies (d = 0.370, k = 19, n = 2,199, 95% CI 0.239-0.501, p < .001) and one-arm pre-post studies (d = 0.291, k = 30, n = 18 (two cohorts from Dyrbye et al), 95% CI 0.127-0.455, p = 0.001). Moderator analyses found trends in less hours and less required practice resulted in better improvement in stress.
conclusionsThis study further confirms that despite a wide variety of mindfulness interventions for medical students around the world, they produce an overall small-to-moderate effect on stress reduction. Future research looking at the most effective protocols for high-stress medical students would be beneficial.
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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.