What the study found
Higher mindfulness was associated with less anxiety and depression and with better health-related quality of life (HRQOL, a measure of how a health condition affects daily life and well-being) in people with Parkinson’s disease. The study also found that anxiety and depression explained part or all of the link between some mindfulness facets and HRQOL.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors conclude that adding mindfulness interventions to clinical pathways for neurodegenerative diseases could provide patients with tools to improve quality of life. They also suggest that focusing on observing, non-judging, and acting with awareness may enhance psychological care, and that the describing facet may be especially important for people at risk of comorbid depression.
What the researchers tested
The researchers did a secondary analysis of baseline data from a clinical trial of mindfulness-based interventions in 159 people with mild-to-moderate Parkinson’s disease. Participants completed validated questionnaires on mindfulness, psychological distress (anxiety and depression), disease-specific HRQOL, and assessor-rated motor symptom severity.
What worked and what didn't
People who were psychologically distressed had significantly lower mindfulness and poorer HRQOL than those who were not distressed. Regression analyses showed that higher mindfulness was associated with lower anxiety and depression and better HRQOL, especially for the non-judging and acting with awareness facets. Mediation analyses found that anxiety and depression fully mediated the links for observing and non-judging, partially mediated acting with awareness, and depression alone fully mediated describing.
What to keep in mind
This was a secondary analysis of baseline data, so it does not establish causation. The abstract does not describe other limitations beyond the study being limited to 159 participants with mild-to-moderate Parkinson’s disease from a clinical trial sample.
Key points
- Higher mindfulness was associated with lower anxiety and depression.
- Higher mindfulness was associated with better disease-specific health-related quality of life.
- Anxiety and depression fully mediated the links between observing and non-judging mindfulness facets and HRQOL.
- Acting with awareness was only partly mediated by anxiety and depression.
- Describing was fully mediated by depression alone.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Mindfulness was linked to better quality of life in Parkinson’s disease
- Authors:
- Lily Man Lee Chan, Edmond Pui Hang Choi, Peter M. Wayne, Jojo Yan Yan Kwok
- Institutions:
- Brigham and Women's Hospital, HKU-Pasteur Research Pole, University of Hong Kong, University of Hong Kong, University of Hong Kong
- Publication date:
- 2026-06-27
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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