Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40040864›Full record

ArticleBrain, behavior, & immunity - health2025

Preliminary evaluation of a mindfulness intervention program in women with long COVID dysautonomia symptoms.

Elizabeth Vandenbogaart, Matthew Figueroa, Diana Winston, Steve Cole, Julienne Bower, Jeffrey J Hsu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Brain, behavior, & immunity - health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Elizabeth VandenbogaartDivision of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Matthew FigueroaDivision of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Diana WinstonUCLA Mindful at UCLA Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Steve ColeDepartment of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Julienne BowerDepartment of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Jeffrey J HsuDivision of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: The symptom burden for patients with Long COVID-associated dysautonomia is high, yet there are currently no effective treatments. Mindfulness programs reduce psychological and physical symptoms as well as inflammatory gene expression in a variety of medical conditions. The study aim was to evaluate the effect of a six-week mindfulness program in women with Long COVID dysautonomia symptoms. Methods: Using a single arm, pre- and posttest design, women aged 18-54 years with Long COVID and orthostatic intolerance suggestive of dysautonomia were recruited from a single center. Participants attended a standardized, six-week, virtual mindfulness program. An active stand test and 6-min walk test (6MWT) were performed at baseline and post-intervention. Self-reported measures of physical and mental health symptoms collected at baseline, post-intervention and 4 week follow up included the composite autonomic symptom score (COMPASS-31), perceived stress (PSS), anxiety (GAD7), depression (PHQ8), COVID-19 event specific distress (IES-R), fatigue (FSI), sleep (ISI), well-being (MHC-SF), resilience (CD-RISC 10), and quality of life (SF-20). The effects on conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA) were examined by next-generation sequencing of dried whole blood samples. Results: Twenty participants were enrolled with a mean age of 39.9 years (range 21-52 years). No significant changes were observed for the active stand test or 6MWT. A significant reduction in insomnia severity (ISI: 16.6 vs. 13.6; p = 0.001) was observed post-intervention, but scores reverted toward baseline levels at 4-week follow-up. No significant improvements were seen in autonomic symptoms, anxiety, perceived stress, depression, well-being, or COVID-19 related distress. Pro-inflammatory CTRA gene expression decreased significantly from pre-to post-intervention ( Conclusion: A virtual, six-week mindfulness program may improve sleep quality in women with Long COVID dysautonomia. While no objective improvement in dysautonomia symptoms were observed, our findings suggest a favorable effect of the mindfulness intervention on inflammatory and antiviral biology with a decrease in CTRA gene expression. Nonetheless, the symptom burden in this population is very high, and more attention is needed to provide effective multi-modal clinical therapies to this population.

Identifiers

PMID40040864
PMCPMC11879682

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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.