Abstract
Objectives
People raised in low-socioeconomic status (SES) households are at an increased risk for physical illness in adulthood. A shift in gene expression profiles in the immune system is one biological mechanism thought to account for elevated disease susceptibility, with a frequently investigated profile being the conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA), characterized by increased expression of pro-inflammatory genes and decreased expression of antiviral and antibody-related genes.
Methods
The present study investigated, in a sample of at-risk midlife adults (N = 88), whether those randomized to learn loving-kindness meditation (LKM) in a 6-week workshop would show a reduction in CTRA gene expression, compared to those randomized to learn mindfulness meditation (MM). We assessed emotions daily and hypothesized positive emotions to account for the expected effect of LKM on gene expression.
Results
Results showed significant group differences from pre- to post-intervention, yet in the opposite direction as hypothesized: Participants randomized to the MM group showed significant declines in CTRA gene expression, whereas those in the LKM group showed significant increases in CTRA gene expression. Both groups showed increases over the 6 weeks in daily reports of positive emotions (b = .007, p < .001) alongside decreases in negative emotions (b = − .005, p < .001). Thus, positive emotions were not pursued as a candidate mediator of observed group effects.
Conclusions
This study is the first to examine whether the biological impact of childhood low SES can be reversed in midlife through meditation interventions. Results suggest mindfulness meditation may be a viable option for improving health outcomes in this at-risk population.
Trial Registration
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02400593.
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Data Availability
All data are available at the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/ve8hx/).
Change history
05 April 2022
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01879-7
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Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Chayla P. Hart and Ann M. Firestine for overseeing data collection and data management, and members of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Laboratory for offering thoughtful comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. The authors also extend their gratitude to the study participants, each of whom devoted time and energy across months to be involved in this research.
Funding
This research was supported by a research grant awarded to Barbara L. Fredrickson by the National Institute on Aging (5R01AG048811) of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). This funding agency played no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
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TNW: assisted with data analyses and wrote the manuscript; JZ: assisted with data analyses and wrote part of the results; MMB, SLK, JB, and SS: collaborated on study design; SC: analyzed data and wrote part of the results; BLF: designed the study, secured funding, and collaborated in writing the manuscript.
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West, T.N., Zhou, J., Brantley, M.M. et al. Effect of Mindfulness Versus Loving-kindness Training on Leukocyte Gene Expression in Midlife Adults Raised in Low-Socioeconomic Status Households. Mindfulness 13, 1185–1196 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01857-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01857-z