Impacts of mindfulness-based interventions in people undergoing hemodialysis: a systematic review

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a serious public health problem worldwide, leading to a series of physical and psychological comorbidities, in addition to costly treatments, lifestyle and dietary restrictions. There is evidence that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) offer complementary treatment for people with chronic illnesses, including CKD, with the aim of improving overall health, reducing side effects and treatment costs. This review aims to investigate the MBIs impact on people with CKD undergoing hemodialysis, and to identify the methodological quality of the current literature in order to support future studies.

We ran searches in five databases (MEDLINE via PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, Web of Science and Scopus) in July 2020. The papers were selected and evaluated by two reviewers independently, using predefined criteria, including the Cochrane Group's risk of bias tool and its recommendations (CRD42020192936).

Of the 175 studies found, 6 randomized controlled trials met the inclusion criteria, and ranged from 2014 to 2019. There were significant improvements in symptoms of anxiety, depression, self-efficacy, sleep quality, and quality of life (n=3) in the groups submitted to the intervention, in addition to physical measures such as blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rate (n=1).

MBIs can offer a promising and safe complementary therapy for people with CKD undergoing hemodialysis, acting on quality of life and physical aspects of the disease.