Loneliness, Psychological Stress
Conditions
Brief summary
This study is a two-arm randomized controlled trial comparing two 8-week stress management programs for reducing inflammation and improving well-being among older adults.
Detailed description
A growing body of literature has demonstrated how stress can affect social relationships, health, and well-being during the aging process. Here, the investigators will test how two different programs can be used to facilitate healthy aging by helping individuals manage stress. One program will teach participants mindfulness meditation techniques while the other will educate participants about how to manage their health. N=188 older adults will visit the study's central laboratory for a baseline visit and complete several days of daily experience sampling before being randomized into one of the two 8-week stress management programs. Participants will complete several days of daily experience sampling at the midpoint and conclusion of the intervention before returning to a study site to complete a follow-up assessment at both 1-week and 3-months after the end of the program. This project will provide important information about how each training program can be used to promote well-being, health, and better social functioning in older adults. This work will ultimately inform the design of more efficacious and efficient stress-management interventions to facilitate healthy aging.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALMindfulness Training
Guided mindfulness meditation and stress management training
BEHAVIORALHealth Education
Guided health education and stress management training
Sponsors
University of Pittsburgh
Virginia Commonwealth University
Carnegie Mellon University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
65 Years to 93 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* English speaking
Exclusion criteria
* \[
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Circulating markers of inflammation, Interleukin-6 and C Reactive Protein | Change from baseline to 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow-up | Measured via blood samples |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Self-reported relational distress | Change from Baseline to Intervention Weeks 4 and 8 | Evaluated using ecological momentary assessment |
| Self-reported loneliness | Change from baseline to 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow-up | Evaluated using UCLA loneliness scale and ecological momentary assessment |
| Pro-inflammatory gene expression | Change from baseline to 1-week post-intervention | — |
| Working memory in daily living | Change from baseline to intervention weeks 4 and 8 | Assessed via a dot memory ambulatory smartphone-based task administered at six timepoints per day, for three days in a row, at baseline and at Intervention weeks 4 and 8 |
| Implicit acceptance of self | 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow-up | Assessed via an Implicit Association Test (IAT) behaviorally quantifying the association between self and acceptance/judgment |
| Self-reported awareness of experiences and reactivity to experience during resting state | 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow-up | Questionnaire assessing the frequency in which participants notice a variety of positive, neutral, and negative experiences and their reactivity to those experiences during a 5-minute resting state period |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Social network and social support | Change from baseline to 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow-up | Evaluated using Social Network Index and Interpersonal Support Evaluation List |
| Self-reported psychological distress | Change from baseline to 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow-up | — |
| Trait affect | Change from baseline to 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow-up | Evaluated using Stanford Measure of Actual, Ideal, and Avoided Affect |
| Trait hostility | Change from baseline to 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow-up | Evaluated using Cook-Medley Hostility Scale |
| Attachment style | Change from baseline to 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow-up | Evaluated using Adult Attachment Scale |
| Attitudes towards aging | Change from baseline to 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow-up | Evaluated using Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire |
| Immune functioning | Change from baseline to 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow-up | Assessed via stimulated IL-6 production and glucocorticoid resistance |
| Cellular aging | Change from baseline to 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow-up | Assessed via telomeres and telomerase |
| Social interaction quality and quantity | Change from Baseline to Intervention Weeks 4 and 8 | Assessed via ecological momentary assessment |
| Markers of inflammation | Assessed at 3-month follow-up only | Assessed via hair sample |
| Treatment expectations | Assessed prior to beginning of intervention, during Intervention Weeks 4 and 8 | Assessed by optimism about treatment and expectations for treatment outcome, |
| Instructor and class ratings | Assessed prior to beginning of intervention, during Intervention Weeks 4 and 8 | Assessed by self-report ratings of patient-provider connection |
| Sleep measures | Change from baseline through intervention to 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow up | Assessed by self-report ratings of sleep using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index |
| Physiological data (blood pressure, pulse rate) | Change from baseline to 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow up | Assessed by blood pressure cuffs in lab |
| Physiological data (gait) | 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow up | Assessed by speed of walking at a normal pace |
| Perceptual speed and visual attention in daily living | Change from baseline to intervention weeks 4 and 8 | Assessed via a symbol search ambulatory smartphone-based task administered at six timepoints per day, for three days in a row, at baseline and at Intervention weeks 4 and 8 |
| Attentional interference from emotional and social information | 1-week post-intervention | Emotional Stroop task with negative social, negative non-social, positive social, and positive non-social words |
| Recall of social and emotional information | 1-week post-intervention | A social memory task assessing event recall based on event sociality (collective, interpersonal, and individual) and valence (positive and negative) |
| Selective auditory attention | 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow-up | Assessed via a dichotic listening task |
| Home practice quality and quantity | Assessed daily throughout the eight-week intervention period | Assessed by self-reported practice length, enjoyment of practice, usefulness of practice, trouble concentrating, mental fatigue, stress, and irritation during practice. |
| Health practices | Change from baseline to 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow-up | Evaluated by questionnaires asking about diet, caffeine consumption, alcohol use, stress reduction, exercise, recreational drug use, cold or flu, flu shots |
| Mental health | Change from baseline to 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow-up | Evaluated using Beck Depression Inventory |
| Self-reported stress | Change from baseline to 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow-up | — |
| Mindfulness | Change from baseline to 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow-up | Evaluated using Mindful Attention Awareness Scale |
| Connectedness to nature | Change from baseline to 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow-up | Evaluated using Nature Connection Scale |
| Personality | Change from baseline to 1-week post-intervention and 3-month follow-up | Evaluated using NEO Personality Inventory |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed