Study Says Meditation Slows AIDS Progression

A new study finds that meditation improved CD4 T-cell counts in AIDS patients.

The researchers studied 67 HIV-positive adults from the Los Angeles area, most of whom reported highly stressful lives. "The average participant in the study was male, African American, homosexual, unemployed, and not on ARV [antiretroviral] medication," they wrote. Approximately 30 percent of the volunteers were on ARVs.

Forty-eight volunteers participated in some or all of a stress-lowering program called mindfulness meditation, defined as practicing an open and receptive awareness of the present moment, avoiding thinking of the past or worrying about the future. The meditation classes included eight weekly two-hour sessions, a day-long retreat, and daily home practice.

CD4 counts were measured before and after the two-month program. The more often the volunteers meditated, the higher their CD4 counts were. "This study provides the first indication that mindfulness meditation stress-management training can have a direct impact on slowing HIV disease progression," said study leader David Creswell of the University of California-Los Angeles. "Even when we controlled for ARV use, we still saw these effects."

It remains unclear how the stress-reducing effects of meditation work, said Creswell: Meditation may directly boost CD4 T-cell levels, or suppress HIV. "We know that stress has direct effects on viral load," he said, adding, "One of the main side effects of this particular treatment was an increase in their quality of life."

"The mindfulness program is a group-based and low-cost treatment, and if this initial finding is replicated in larger samples, it's possible that such training can be used as a powerful complementary treatment for HIV disease, alongside medications," said Creswell.

The study, "Mindfulness Meditation Training Effects on CD4+ T Lymphocytes in HIV-1 Infected Adults: A Small Randomized Controlled Trial," was published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity (2008:doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2008.07.004).

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