title: Mindfulness-based Intervention for Female Adolescents with Chronic Pain: A Pilot Randomized Trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test the feasibility of a randomized-controlled trial measuring the impact of an adapted mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) in female adolescents with chronic pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a single center, single-blind, prospective, experimental, longitudinal trial conducted in a pediatric tertiary care center. Participants had a history of chronic pain during at least three months. They were randomized into an intervention group or a wait-list control group. Both groups successively followed an adapted eight-week MBI designed specifically for adolescents with chronic pain. Pre-determined criteria were established to assess the feasibility, validity and acceptability of the study model. Data evaluating changes in quality of life, depression, anxiety, pain perception, psychological distress and salivary cortisol were collected throughout the 4-month study period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nineteen female participants completed the study and had a mean age of 15.8 years (range 13.9 -17.8). Attrition rate was low (17%). Attendance to mindfulness sessions (84%) and compliance to study protocol (100%) were high. All participants reported a positive change in the way they coped with pain. No changes in quality of life, depression, anxiety, pain perception, and psychological distress were detected. Significant reductions in pre-and post-mindfulness session salivary cortisol levels were observed (p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mindfulness is a promising therapeutic approach for which limited data exist in adolescents with chronic pain. Our study indicates the feasibility of conducting such interventions in teenage girls. A large trial is needed to demonstrate the efficacy and bio-physiological impacts of MBIs in teenagers with chronic pain.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pediatrics, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Clinical Biochemistry, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montreal, Quebec; Department of Adolescent Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Sherbrooke University Hospital Centre, Sherbrooke, Quebec.
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McMahon
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pediatrics, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Clinical Biochemistry, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montreal, Quebec.
authors.forename: Majorie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vadnais
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Sciences, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Gatineau, Quebec.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Malboeuf-Hurtubise
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pediatrics, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Clinical Biochemistry, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montreal, Quebec.
authors.forename: Anissa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Djemli
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pediatrics, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Clinical Biochemistry, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montreal, Quebec.
authors.forename: Patricia L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Dobkin
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pediatrics, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Clinical Biochemistry, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montreal, Quebec.
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lacroix
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pediatrics, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Clinical Biochemistry, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montreal, Quebec.
authors.forename: Thuy Mai
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Luu
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pediatrics, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Clinical Biochemistry, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montreal, Quebec; Montreal Public Health Department, Montreal, Quebec.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Haley
keywords: adolescent; chronic pain; feasibility; mindfulness; pilot; randomized