Adverse events in meditation practices and meditation-based therapies: a systematic review.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Systematic review of experimental, observational, and case studies.
PubMed 32820538 · doi:10.1111/acps.13225
What was done
Authors conducted a systematic review across PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, Embase, and AMED up to October 2019. They included original reports of meditation practices in adult samples across experimental, observational, and case studies, excluding movement-based practices such as Yoga postures, to assess meditation adverse events (MAEs) and their prevalence.
What was found
Of 83 included studies (6,703 participants), 55 (65%) reported at least one MAE. Total adverse event prevalence was 8.3% (95% CI 0.05-0.12), differing markedly by design: 3.7% (95% CI 0.02-0.05) in experimental studies and 33.2% (95% CI 0.25-0.41) in observational studies. The most frequently reported AEs were anxiety (33%, 18 studies), depression (27%, 15 studies), and cognitive anomalies (25%, 14 studies); gastrointestinal issues (11%, 6 studies) and suicidal behaviours (11%, 6 studies) were least frequent. Events occurred in individuals with and without prior mental health problems.
Why it matters
This review challenges the assumption that meditation is risk-free by documenting that adverse psychological and physical events can occur across varied populations and settings.
Limits
Prevalence estimates varied nearly tenfold depending on study design, reflecting substantial reporting and methodological heterogeneity. The abstract does not stratify risk by meditation type, dose, or instructor experience, nor does it report control group baseline rates to definitively establish causality.