TOPLINE:

The use of a mobile mindfulness app significantly reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression and perceived stress in adults with noninfectious uveitis over 8 weeks, suggesting the app may be a helpful and scalable addition to standard eye care.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a single-center, single-masked, waitlist-controlled clinical trial at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to evaluate the effects of a digital mindfulness program on mental health outcomes in adults with noninfectious uveitis.
• They randomly assigned 100 adults with active or inactive noninfectious uveitis and at least mild symptoms of anxiety or depression at baseline to have immediate access to the Calm Health mobile app, with instructions to use it for at least 10 minutes daily for 8 weeks, or to the waitlist control group that received no new mindfulness intervention during this period.
• The app offered personalized and evidence-based content to help people manage anxiety, depression, and stress; the waitlist control group was informed that it would be given access to the app after 8 weeks.
• The main outcome was a change in the severity of anxiety at 8 weeks, and secondary outcomes were changes in depression levels, perceived stress, and vision-related quality of life; outcomes were assessed at baseline and 8 weeks using validated surveys.

TAKEAWAY:

• Of the 100 participants, 70 completed the primary endpoint assessment, and the median total time spent using the app over 8 weeks was about 580 minutes (9.7 hours) in the intervention group.
• After adjustment, the intervention group had significantly lower severity of general anxiety symptoms at 8 weeks than the control group (mean difference in the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 score, -1.7 points; P = .02).
• Secondary analyses showed significantly reduced scores for depression (mean difference in the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score, -1.90 points; P = .001) and stress (mean difference in the Perceived Stress Scale-10 score, -3.69 points; P = .002) in the intervention group.
• Scores that determined how vision problems affected a patient’s quality of life were not significantly different between groups (P = .18).

IN PRACTICE:

“In this 8-week randomized trial, a digital mindfulness meditation intervention was associated with reductions in anxiety, depression, and perceived stress among adults with mild-to-moderate baseline symptoms. Its fully remote, app-based format allows for scalable delivery, offering broad access to evidence-based mindfulness programs,” the researchers of the study reported.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Jessica G. Shantha, MD, MSc, Emory University, Atlanta, and UCSF, and Isabel Ray, UCSF. It was published online on 15 June in Ophthalmology.

LIMITATIONS:

The study was conducted at one academic center and included only English-speaking participants who could read the app, so the findings may not apply to all people with noninfectious uveitis. The study was too small to compare results by uveitis type or cause. The study coordinators and participants knew which group they were in, which may have influenced how participants reported their symptoms.

DISCLOSURES:

One author reported consulting fees from Roche, unrelated to the study. The UCSF Department of Ophthalmology received support from the National Eye Institute and the Research to Prevent Blindness Foundation. Calm Health provided the app for the study but did not provide financial support.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.