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Interoception and mental health in middle-aged and elderly adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Meiling Qi1, Xiaona Shen1, Yue Zeng1
1School of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
Background:
Recent studies have identified interoceptive dysfunction as a critical biomarker for emotional disorders. It is well-established that aging correlates with a deterioration in interoceptive capabilities, which consequently affects emotional processing dynamics.
Methods:
This study performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the associations between interoceptive variants and mental health in middle-aged and elderly adults. Three English databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, and Medline (via EBSCO), were electronically searched from inception through December 2023. The study quality and meta-analysis were performed using the MMAT and RevMan 5.4 software.
Results:
A total of 21 studies were included in this systematic review, and data from 14 studies were used in the meta-analysis. Favorable associations were seen between interoception and depression (pooled r = -0.11 (95CI%: -0.19 to -0.03), z = 2.72, p = 0.006, I2= 0 %), alexithymia (pooled r = -0.25 (95CI%: -0.35 to -0.16), z = 4.84, p < 0.001, I2= 31 %), and emotion regulation (pooled r = 0.30 (95CI%: 0.18-0.41), z = 4.63, p < 0.001, I2= 33 %). Interoception showed no significant correlation with other mental health outcomes.
Conclusion:
This systematic review and meta-analysis underscore the importance of interoception in understanding the underlying neural mechanisms of depression, alexithymia, and emotion regulation in middle-aged and older adults. Interoceptive training could also potentially serve as an effective strategy for promoting mental health within this demographic.
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