201 - Mitigation of Adverse Childhood Events with Virtual Mindfulness Meditation

Publication Number: 201.6011

Laura Figueroa-Phillips, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Long Beach, CA, United States; Lizeth Gasca, University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine, Baldwin Park, CA, United States; Nina N. Thompson, Olive View-UCLA Education and Research Institute, San Francisco, CA, United States; Shannon M.. Thyne, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, SYLMAR, CA, United States

Background: ACEs are prevalent among children in the US, especially among BIPOC and low-income communities, and are associated with a higher prevalence of emotional, psychiatric, and physical problems. Offering therapies and tools proven to mitigate toxic stress can help buffer the impact of ACEs. Mindfulness meditation has been shown to lower cortisol levels, decrease anxiety, and decrease somatization. We hypothesized that providing mindfulness meditation to pediatric patients with ACEs would help mitigate their impact on physical and mental health symptoms.

Objective: To assess the benefits of virtual mindfulness meditation classes for pediatric patients with ACEs.

Design/Methods: We conducted a pre-post intervention study of children ages 11 to 20 years old who screened positive for ACEs (total score >=4 or total score 1-3 with ACE-related health condition(s)). Recruitment was conducted via outreach to patients with recent ACE screen in safety net primary care clinics in LA County. Participants (n=59) enrolled in a 6-week mindfulness meditation class delivered weekly via Zoom taught by a professional instructor. Data was collected at three timepoints: baseline, 1-month post-intervention, and 4-months post-intervention. Data instruments included PHQ-9, GAD-7, Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) which evaluates emotional and behavioral health, and the Brief Impairment Scale (BIS) which assesses functional impairment. We also evaluated for physical complaints frequently associated with toxic stress.

Results: Significant improvements were seen in depression at 1 month follow-up (PHQ-9 -3.74, P=0.0002) which persisted at 4 months (PHQ-9 -2.49, P=0.0039), as well as in anxiety at 1 month (GAD-7 -3.53, P< 0.0001) and 4 months (GAD-7 -3.46, P< 0.0001). Additionally, attendance at more sessions corresponded to greater improvements in anxiety (P=0.0028) and depression (P=0.0065). Patients also had improvement in BIS Total Scores (P=0.0437) and SDQ Total Scores (P=0.0048). Similarly, greater improvements in SDQ Impact were positively correlated with number of sessions attended (P=0.005). We evaluated 11 physical complaints associated with toxic stress and found that participants had a significant reduction in chronic abdominal pain (P=0.0225) and difficulty sleeping (P=0.0075).

Conclusion(s): Virtual mindfulness meditation classes are an accessible and effective way to mitigate some of the most common consequences of ACEs in children and teens, including anxiety, depression, sleeping difficulty and chronic abdominal pain.

Effect of Virtual Meditation on Depression (PHQ-9)
Significant improvements from pre-intervention to 1 and 4-month post-intervention in PHQ-9 Total Score

Effect of Virtual Meditation on Anxiety (GAD-7)
Significant improvements from pre-intervention to 1 and 4-month post-intervention in GAD-7 Total Score

Correlation of Number of Meditation Sessions and Improved Scores
Number of meditation sessions attended is positively correlated with degree of improvement in PHQ-9, GAD-7, and SDQ Impact scores.