Mindfulness meditation performed as well as a standard drug for treating anxiety, said a study, the first head-to-head comparison of its kind.

The study put to the test a widely used mindfulness programme that consists of 2 1/2 hours of weekly classes and 45 minutes of daily practice at home. Participants were randomly assigned to either the programme or daily use of Lexapro, a generic drug used to treat depression and anxiety.

Anxiety, as measured on a severity scale, decreased by about 30% in both groups after two months and continued to decrease for the next four months.

The findings, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry on Wednesday, are timely. An influential U.S. health task force recommended routine anxiety screening for adults in September, and numerous reports suggest that global anxiety rates have recently increased due to concerns about the pandemic, political and racial unrest, climate change, and financial uncertainties.

Social anxiety, generalised anxiety, and panic attacks are examples of anxiety disorders. People who are affected are plagued by persistent and intrusive worries that interfere with their lives and relationships. According to data cited in US Preventive Services Task Force screening recommendations, anxiety disorders affect 40% of US women and more than 1 in 4 men at some point in their lives.

Mindfulness is a type of meditation that emphasises paying attention only to what is happening in the present moment and dismissing distracting thoughts. Breathing exercises are frequently used to begin sessions. Then there could be "body scans," which involve systematically thinking about each body part from head to toe. When worried thoughts arise, participants learn to acknowledge them briefly before dismissing them.

Instead of dwelling on the troubling thought, lead author Elizabeth Hoge, director of Georgetown University's Anxiety Disorders Research Program, advised, "you say, 'I'm having this thought, let that go for now." "It changes the relationship people have with their own thoughts when they are not meditating," says one practitioner.

Previous research has found that mindfulness works better than no treatment or at least as well as education or more formal behaviour therapy in reducing anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. However, this is the first study to compare it to a psychiatric drug, according to Hoge, and the findings may encourage insurers to cover the costs, which can range from $300 to $500 for an 8-week session.

The findings were based on approximately 200 adults who participated in a six-month study at medical centres in Washington, Boston, and New York. The researchers used a psychiatric scale of 1 to 7, with 7 representing severe anxiety. Prior to starting treatment, the average score for participants was around 4.5.

It fell to around 3 after two months, then fell slightly in both groups at three and six months. According to Hoge, the change was clinically significant, resulting in a noticeable improvement in symptoms.

Ten patients on the drug dropped out due to unpleasant side effects that could have been caused by the medication, such as insomnia, nausea, and fatigue. There were no dropouts from the mindfulness group for this reason, despite the fact that 13 patients reported increased anxiety.

According to psychologist Sheehan Fisher, an associate professor at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine who was not involved in the study, the study "reaffirms how useful mindfulness can be when practised effectively."

Mindfulness treatments, according to Dr. Scott Krakower, a psychiatrist at Zucker Hillside Hospital in New York, often work best for mildly anxious patients. For patients with more severe anxiety, he prescribes medication.

He mentioned that many people believe they don't have time for mindfulness meditation, particularly in-person sessions like the ones investigated. Krakower, who also had no role in the study, is unsure whether similar results would be obtained with online training or phone apps.

Olga Cannistraro, a freelance writer in Keene, New Hampshire, says she participated in an earlier mindfulness study led by Hoge and learned how to "intervene in my own state of mind."

During a session, she said that simply acknowledging that she was feeling tension anywhere in her body helped her relax.

Cannistraro, 52, suffers from generalised anxiety disorder but has never been medicated. During her previous study, she was a single mother working in sales, which she said made life particularly stressful. She has since married, changed jobs, and is less anxious, though she continues to use mindfulness techniques.
-AP