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Spiritually Based Interventions for High Blood Pressure: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

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Abstract

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of spiritually based interventions on blood pressure (BP) among adults. A systematic search was performed using the PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane databases to identify studies evaluating spiritual interventions, including meditation, transcendental meditation, mindfulness meditation, and yoga, for high BP among adults up to January 1, 2022. The inclusion criteria were (a) randomized controlled trials (RCTs), (b) studies in English or Persian, (c) studies conducted among adults (≥ 18 years), and (d) studies reporting systolic or diastolic BP. Given the high heterogeneity of these studies, a random effect model was used to calculate the effect sizes for the RCTs. In total, the systematic review included 24 studies and the meta-analysis included 23 studies. As some of studies reported two or more outcome measurements, separate estimates of each outcome were extracted for that study (24 datasets). Fifteen trials reported the mean (SD) systolic blood pressure (SBP), and 13 trials reported the mean (SD) diastolic blood pressure (DBP). In addition, 13 studies reported means (SDs) and six trials reported mean changes in DBP. A significant decrease was found in systolic BP following intervention ((WMD (weighted mean difference) =  − 7.63 [− 9.61 to − 5.65; P < 0.001]). We observed significant heterogeneity among the studies (I2 = 96.9; P < 0.001). A significant decrease was observed in DBP following the interventions (WMD =  − 4.75 [− 6.45 to − 3.05; P < 0.001]). Spiritually based interventions including meditation and yoga had beneficial effects in reducing both SBP and DBP. Reducing BP can be expected to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

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Availability of Data and Materials

The data collection tools and datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Abbreviations

BP:

Blood pressure

WMD:

Weighted mean differences

RCTs:

Randomized controlled trials

SBP:

Systolic blood pressure

DBP:

Diastolic blood pressure

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the contributions of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran, for providing facilities to the study.

Funding

Tabriz University of Medical Sciences provided facilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tabriz Health Services Management Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Roghayeh Khabiri

  2. Health Education and Health Promotion Department, School of Public Health, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Leila Jahangiry

  3. Medical Education Research Center, Health Management and Safety Promotion Research Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Leila Jahangiry & Fatollah Majidi

  4. Student Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Mehdi Abbasian

  5. Department of Geriatric Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Mehdi Abbasian

  6. Department of Community Nutrition, Faculty of Nutrition, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Mahdieh Abbasalizad Farhangi

  7. Road Traffic Injury Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Homayoun Sadeghi-bazargani

  8. Faculty of Social Sciences, Imec-Mict-Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Koen Ponnet

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  2. Leila Jahangiry
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  3. Mehdi Abbasian
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  4. Fatollah Majidi
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  5. Mahdieh Abbasalizad Farhangi
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  6. Homayoun Sadeghi-bazargani
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  7. Koen Ponnet
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Correspondence to Leila Jahangiry.

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This study received ethical approval from the Ethics Committee of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (NO: IR.TBZMED.REC. 1397.749).

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Khabiri, R., Jahangiry, L., Abbasian, M. et al. Spiritually Based Interventions for High Blood Pressure: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Relig Health (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-024-02034-3

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