Mindfulness meditation benefits extend to ocular hypertension

Patients with ocular hypertension appear to fare well with mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), which a recent study has shown to result in reductions in intraocular pressure (IOP) and cortisol levels, as well as improvements in optic nerve head perfusion and quality of life.

The study recruited 60 patients with IOP of between >21 and <30 mm Hg from a tertiary eye care centre in India. They were randomized to undergo daily hour-long MBSR sessions for 6 weeks (n=30) or to a waitlist status and kept on follow-up.

Researchers assessed the change in IOP after 6 weeks of MBSR as the primary outcome. They also evaluated the effect of the intervention on serum cortisol level, diurnal variation of IOP, vessel perfusion and vessel density on optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), and quality of life.

After 6 weeks, patients who underwent MBSR sessions showed a significant decrease in IOP (from 23.05 to 19.15 mm Hg; p=0.001). On the other hand, IOP remained the same among waitlisted patients (from 22.55 to 22.37 mm Hg; p=0.107). Accordingly, the change in IOP was significantly greater in the former group (mean, 3.93 vs 0.17 mm Hg; p=0.001).

Furthermore, the MBSR group had a significant reduction in the diurnal fluctuation of IOP (from 4.87 to 2.73 mm Hg; p=0.001) but not the waitlist group (from 4.50 to 4.30 mm Hg; p=0.227). Other notable improvements observed with MBSR included vessel perfusion, vessel density, and flux index on OCTA.

Finally, MBSR led to a substantial drop in serum cortisol level (p≤0.001) and improved quality of life (p=0.001).

The findings suggest that MBSR can be considered as a potential treatment option in the management of ocular hypertension.