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World J Psychiatry. Apr 19, 2025; 15(4): 104450
Published online Apr 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i4.104450
Effect of Qi-based mindfulness therapy for mild-to-moderate depression
Qiong-Wei Li, Yan Yang, Xue-Jiao Gao, Alexander Ma, Wei Sun
Qiong-Wei Li, Xue-Jiao Gao, Wei Sun, Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing 100191, China
Yan Yang, Urumqi Fourth People’s Hospital, Urumqi 830002, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China
Alexander Ma, Beijing Dezheng Culture Co., Ltd, Beijing 100020, China
Co-first authors: Qiong-Wei Li and Yan Yang.
Author contributions: Li QW and Yang Y contributed equally as co-first authors; Sun W conceived the project; Yang Y and Gao XJ prepared for the first draft of the manuscript; Yang Y prepared the first draft of figures and tables; Sun W and Ma A critically revised the manuscript; Li QW, Yang Y, Gao XJ, Ma A, and Sun W contributed to the article and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Supported by the Beijing Tiandehe Public Welfare Foundation, No. 2023-7-024.
Institutional review board statement: The Ethics Committee of Peking University Sixth Hospital approved the protocol and the informed consent statement (No. 2023-06).
Clinical trial registration statement: This study was not registered.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 Statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 Statement.
Data sharing statement: The data analyzed during this study may be obtained from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Wei Sun, MD, Professor, Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), No. 51 Huayuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China. weisun@bjmu.edu.cn
Received: December 20, 2024
Revised: January 23, 2025
Accepted: February 19, 2025
Published online: April 19, 2025
Processing time: 95 Days and 2.1 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Depression is a disorder characterized by significant and persistent depressed mood, cognitive impairment, impaired voluntary activity, working memory, and somatic symptoms.

AIM

To determine the efficacy of Qi-based mindfulness therapy (QMT) in treating anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances in individuals with mild-to-moderate depression.

METHODS

A self-controlled before–after trial was conducted. The study invited online participants for recruitment between May and July 2023. Participants (n = 18) aged 18-65 years with mild-to-moderate depression, who were receiving QMT training for 4 weeks, were included. The primary efficacy indicators were the 17 Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Hamilton Anxiety Scale scores. The secondary outcome indicators included the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale, the self-rating Anxiety Scale, and the Insomnia Severity Index. Pre- and post-intervention assessments were conducted. The patients’ symptoms related to depression, anxiety, and insomnia were reassessed 4 weeks after the post-intervention evaluation.

RESULTS

Patients who underwent the QMT intervention for 4 weeks exhibited a statistically significant reduction in scores on the 17 Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Hamilton Anxiety Scale, the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, and the Insomnia Severity Index relative to their pre-intervention scores (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

QMT training for 4 weeks is an effective nonpharmacological treatment for symptoms of depression, anxiety, and insomnia among patients with mild-to-moderate depression.

Keywords: Qi-based mindfulness therapy; Depression; Anxiety; Insomnia; Depression rating scale; Anxiety rating scale

Core Tip: Depression is a disorder characterized by significant and persistent depressed mood, cognitive impairment, impaired voluntary activity, working memory, and somatic symptoms. Alexander Ma developed Qi-based mindfulness therapy based on mindfulness training and traditional Chinese medicine theory for Qi. This study determined the efficacy of Qi-based mindfulness therapy for depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances in patients with mild-to-moderate depression.