Abstract
This paper is a commentary on Doug Oman’s article entitled, “Mindfulness for Global Public Health: Critical Analysis and Agenda,” published in this issue. The present paper lays out the parameters of how epidemiologists may go about investigating the population-health impact of practices and states of being related to mindfulness meditation. First, it discusses conceptual issues involved in researching mindfulness; second, it summarizes the empirical literature on mindfulness and population health; third, it proposes a new field of study around the epidemiology of mindfulness; and, fourth, it offers some suggestions regarding translation of epidemiologic research findings on mindfulness to public health. To this end, a series of questions is posed in order to provide a starting point for descriptive and analytic epidemiologic research on mindfulness, and the translation or application of such findings in pastoral, clinical, and public health settings is discussed, with examples given. Conducting epidemiologic studies is a natural next step in the emergence of mindfulness and meditation as a subject for health-related research. Moreover, public health can provide a new setting for mindfulness to demonstrate its salutary effects, not just on individual patients in clinical settings but at the population level, in terms of rates of physical and psychological morbidity.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Addiss, D. G. (2017). Mindfulness, compassion, and the foundations of global health ethics. In L. Monteiro, J. Compson, & F. Musten (Eds.), Practitioner’s guide to ethics and mindfulness-based interventions (pp. 295–322). Springer.
Allen, J. G., Romate, J., & Rajkumar, E. (2021). Mindfulness-based positive psychology interventions: A systematic review. BMC Psychology, 9(1), 116. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-021-00618-2
Álvarez-Pérez, Y., Rivero-Santana, A., Perestelo-Pérez, L., Duarte-Díaz, A., Ramos-García, V., Toledo-Chávarri, A., Torres-Castaño, A., León-Salas, B., Infante-Ventura, D., González-Hernández, N., Rodriguez-Rodriguez, L., & Serrano-Aguilar, P. (2022). Effectiveness of mantra-based meditation on mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(6), 3380. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063380
Armstrong, B. K., White, E., & Saracci, R. (1994). Principles of exposure measurement in epidemiology. Oxford University Press.
Azeemi, K. S. (2005). Muraqaba: The art and science of Sufi meditation. Trans. and ed. by S. S. Reaz. Plato Pub.
Balban, M. Y., Neri, E., Kogon, M. N., Weed, L., Nouriani, B., Jo, B., Holl, G., Zeitzer, J. M., Spiegel, D., & Huberman, A. D. (2023). Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Reports Medicine, 4(1), 100895. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100895
Beauchamp, D. E. (1976). Exploring new ethics for public health: Developing a fair alcohol policy. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 1(3), 338–354. https://doi.org/10.1215/03616878-1-3-338
Bingaman, K. A. (2011). The art of contemplative and mindfulness practice: Incorporating the findings of neuroscience into pastoral care and counseling. Pastoral Psychology, 60(3), 477–489. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-011-0328-9
Bishop, S. R. (2002). What do we really know about Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction? Psychosomatic Medicine, 64(1), 71–83. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-200201000-00010
Byass, P. (2001). Person, place and time—but who, where, and when? Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 29(2), 84–86.
Carlsson, S. (2022). Taking the Buddha out of Buddhism: A literature study on the concept of mindfulness. Faculty of Social Sciences, Lund University. https://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=9083355&fileOId=9083385
Creswell, J. D. (2017). Mindfulness interventions. Annual Review of Psychology, 68, 491–516. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-042716-051139
Dass, R. (1971). Be here now. Lama Foundation.
Davidson, R. J. (2021). Mindfulness and more: Toward a science of human flourishing. Psychosomatic Medicine, 83(6), 665–668. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000960
Esch, T., & Stefano, G. B. (2005). Love promotes health. Neuroendocrinology Letters, 26(3), 264–267.
Fendel, J. C., Aeschbach, V. M., Göritz, A. S., & Schmidt, S. (2020). A mindfulness program to improve resident physicians’ personal and work-related well-being: A feasibility study. Mindfulness, 11(6), 1511–1519. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01366-x
Goodman, M. S., Madni, L. A., & Semple, R. J. (2017). Measuring mindfulness in youth: Review of current assessments, challenges, and future directions. Mindfulness, 8(6), 1409–1420. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0719-9
Griffith, G., Crane, R., Karunavira, & Koebel, L. (2021). The mindfulness-based interventions: Teaching and learning companion (MBI:TLC). In R. S. Crane, Karunavira, & G. M. Griffith (Eds.), Essential resources for mindfulness teachers (pp. 125–148). Routledge.
Hanh, T. N. (1998). The heart of the Buddha’s teaching: Transforming suffering into peace, joy, and liberation: The four noble truths, the noble eightfold path, and other basic Buddhist teachings. Harmony Books.
Hickey, W. S. (2019). Mind cure: How meditation became medicine. Oxford University Press.
Hill, B. D., & Labbé, E. E. (2014). Measuring mindfulness. In N. N. Singh (Ed.), Psychology of meditation (pp. 11–27). Nova Science Publishers.
Hill, P. C., & Hood, R. W., Jr. (1999). Measures of religiosity. Religious Education Press.
Hilton, L., Hempel, S., Ewing, B. A., Apaydin, E., Xenakis, L., Newberry, S., Colaiaco, B., Maher, A. R., Shanman, R. M., Sorbero, M. E., & Maglione, M. A. (2017). Mindfulness meditation for chronic pain: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 51(2), 199–213. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-016-9844-2
Holmes, D. S. (1984). Meditation and somatic arousal reduction: A review of the experimental evidence. American Psychologist, 39(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.39.1.1
Institute of Noetic Sciences. (2002). The physical and psychological effects of meditation: Annotated update, September, 2002. Institute of Noetic Sciences.
Irving, J. A., Park-Saltzman, J., Fitzpatrick, M., Dobkin, P. L., Chen, A., & Hutchinson, T. (2014). Experiences of health care professionals enrolled in mindfulness-based medical practice: A grounded theory model. Mindfulness, 5(1), 60–71. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-012-0147-9
Jain, V. K. (2012). Shri Amritchanda Suri’s Puruşārthasiddhyupaya (Purushartha Siddhyupaya). Vikalp Printers.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1982). An outpatient program in behavioral medicine for chronic pain patients based on the practice of mindfulness meditation: Theoretical considerations and preliminary results. General Hospital Psychiatry, 4(1), 33–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/0163-8343(82)90026-3
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 144–156. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy/bpg016
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2015). Foreword. In Mindfulness All-Party Parliamentary Group, Mindful nation UK (pp. 9–10). https://www.themindfulnessinitiative.org/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=1af56392-4cf1-4550-bdd1-72e809fa627a
Kaplan, A. (1982). Meditation and kabbalah. Weiser Books.
Khoury, M. J., Gwinn, M., & Ioannidis, J. P. A. (2010). The emergence of translational epidemiology: From scientific discovery to population health impact. American Journal of Epidemiology, 172(5), 517–524. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwq211
Khoury, B., Sharma, M., Rush, S. E., & Fournier, C. (2015). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for healthy individuals: A meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 78(6), 519–528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2015.03.009
Kleinbaum, D. G., Sullivan, K. M., & Barker, N. D. (2007). A pocket guide to epidemiology. Springer.
Koenig, H. G., & Cohen, H. J. (2002). The link between religion and health: Psychoneuroimmunology and the faith factor. Oxford University Press.
Larouche, E., Hudon, C., & Goulet, S. (2015). Potential benefits of mindfulness-based interventions in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease: An interdisciplinary perspective. Behavioural Brain Research, 276(1), 199–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2014.05.058
Levin, J. (2004). Prayer, love, and transcendence: An epidemiologic perspective. In K. W. Schaie, N. Krause, & A. Booth (Eds.), Religious influences on health and well-being in the elderly (pp. 69–95). Springer.
Levin, J. (2020a). Human flourishing and population health: Meaning, measurement, and implications. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 63(3), 401–419.
Levin, J. (2020b). Scientists and scholars. Chapter 5 in Religion and medicine: A history of the encounter between humanity’s two greatest institutions (pp. 85–115). Oxford University Press.
Levin, J. (2022). Toward a translational epidemiology of religion: Challenges and opportunities. Annals of Epidemiology, 75, 25–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2022.08.053
Levin, J. (2023). The epidemiology of love: Historical perspectives and implications for population-health research. Journal of Positive Psychology, 18(1), 34–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2022.2053876
Levin, J., & Steele, L. (2001). On the epidemiology of “mysterious” phenomena. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 7(1), 64–66.
Levin, J., & Steele, L. (2005). The transcendent experience: Conceptual, theoretical, and epidemiologic perspectives. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing, 1(2), 89–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2004.12.002
Levin, J. S., & Vanderpool, H. Y. (1987). Is frequent religious attendance really conducive to better health?: Toward an epidemiology of religion. Social Science and Medicine, 24(7), 589–600. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(87)90063-3
Lutz, A., Chételat, G., Collette, F., Klimecki, O. M., Marchant, N. L., & Gonneaud, J. (2021). The protective effect of mindfulness and compassion meditation practices on ageing: Hypotheses, models and experimental implementation. Ageing Research Reviews, 72, 101495. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2021.10149
Mahler, H. (1981). The meaning of “health for all by the year 2000.” World Health Forum, 2(1), 5–22.
Malinowski, P. (2008). Mindfulness as a psychological dimension: Concepts and applications. Irish Journal of Psychology, 29(1–2), 155–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/03033910.2008.10446281
McCubbin, T., Dimidjian, S., Kempe, K., Glassey, M. S., Ross, C., & Beck, A. (2014). Mindfulness-based stress reduction in an integrated care delivery system: One-year impacts on patient-centered outcomes and health care utilization. Permanente Journal, 18(4), 4–9. https://doi.org/10.7812/TPP/14-014
Michalak, J., Steinhaus, K., & Heidenreich, T. (2020). (How) do therapists use mindfulness in their clinical work?: A study on the implementation of mindfulness interventions. Mindfulness, 11(2), 401–410. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-019-01250-3
Murphy, M., & Donovan, S. (1997). The physical and psychological effects of meditation: A review of contemporary research with a comprehensive bibliography, 1931–1996, second edition. Ed. by E. Taylor. Institute of Noetic Sciences.
Oman, D. (2019). Studying the effects of meditation: The first fifty years. In M. Farias, D. Brazier, & M. Lalljee (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of meditation (pp. 41–75). Oxford University Press.
Oman, D. (2023). Mindfulness for global public health: Critical analysis and agenda. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02089-5
Oman, D., Bormann, J. E., & Kane, J. J. (2022). Mantram repetition as a portable mindfulness practice: Applications during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mindfulness, 13(6), 1418–1429. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01545-w
Pardos-Gascón, E. M., Narambuena, L., Leal-Costa, C., & van-der Hofstadt-Román, C. J. (2021). Differential efficacy between cognitive-behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based therapies for chronic pain: Systematic review. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 21(1), 100197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2020.08.001
Park, T., Reilly-Spong, M., & Gross, C. R. (2013). Mindfulness: A systematic review of instruments to measure an emergent patient-reported outcome (PRO). Quality of Life Research, 22(10), 2639–2659. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-013-0395-8
Pascoe, M. C., Thompson, D. R., Jenkins, Z. M., & Ski, C. F. (2017). Mindfulness mediates the physiological markers of stress: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 95, 156–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.08.004
Peng, R. D., Dominici, F., & Zeger, S. L. (2006). Reproducible epidemiologic research. American Journal of Epidemiology, 163(9), 783–789. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwj093
Porta, M. (2014). A dictionary of epidemiology (6th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Purser, R. E. (2019). McMindfulness: How mindfulness became the new capitalist spirituality. Repeater Books.
Sampaio, C. V. S., Lima, M. G., & Ladaeia, A. M. (2017). Meditation, health, and scientific investigations: Review of the literature. Journal of Religion and Health, 56(2), 411–427. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-016-0211-1
Samuelson, M., Carmody, J., Kabat-Zinn, J., & Bratt, M. A. (2007). Mindfulness-based stress reduction in Massachusetts correctional facilities. The Prison Journal, 87(2), 254–268.
Sauer, S., Walach, H., Schmidt, S., Hinterberger, T., Lynch, S., Büssing, A., & Kohls, A. (2013). Assessment of mindfulness: Review on state of the art. Mindfulness, 4(1), 3–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-012-0122-5
Sedlmeier, P., Eberth, J., Schwarz, M., Zimmerman, D., Haarig, F., Jaeger, S., & Kunze, S. (2012). The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 138(6), 1139–1171. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028168
Van Gordon, W., & Shonin, E. (2020). Second-generation mindfulness-based interventions: Toward more authentic mindfulness practice and teaching. Mindfulness, 11(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-019-01252-1
Wehling, M. (2022). Principles of translational science in medicine: From bench to bedside (3rd ed.). Academic Press.
Woolfolk, R. L. (1975). Psychophysiological correlates of meditation. Archives of General Psychiatry, 32(10), 1326–1333. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1975.01760280124011
Yogi, M. M. (1963). The science of being and art of living. Allied Publishers.
Zhang, D., Lee, E. K. P., Mak, E. C. W., Ho, C. Y., & Wong, S. Y. S. (2021). Mindfulness-based interventions: An overall review. British Medical Bulletin, 138(1), 41–57. https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldab005
Zhang, L., Lopes, S., Lavelle, T., Jones, K. O., Chen, L., Jindal, M., Zinzow, H., & Shi, L. (2022). Economic evaluations of mindfulness-based interventions: A systematic review. Mindfulness, 13(10), 2359–2378. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01960-1
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethical Approval
None required for a Commentary article.
Conflict of Interest
The author declares no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Levin, J. Being in the Present Moment: Toward an Epidemiology of Mindfulness. Mindfulness (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02179-4
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02179-4