Mindfulness worked as well for anxiety as drug in study

Mindfulness meditation worked as well as a standard drug for treating anxiety in the first head-to-head comparison. 

The study tested a widely used mindfulness program that includes 2 1/2 hours of classes weekly and 45 minutes of daily practice at home. Participants were randomly assigned to the program or daily use of a generic drug sold under the brand name Lexapro for depression and anxiety. 

After two months, anxiety as measured on a severity scale declined by about 30% in both groups and continued to decrease during the following four months.  

Study results, published Wednesday in the jouranl JAMA Psychiatry, are timely. In September, an influential U.S. health task force recommended routine anxiety screening for adults, and numerousreports suggest global anxiety rates have increased recently, related to worries over the pandemic, political and racial unrest, climate change and financial uncertainties.