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Not yet recruitingNCT06144138Updated Nov 22, 2023

Impact of Breathing Exercises and Meditation on Reducing Stress and Improving Quality of Life of Glaucoma Patients: An Electronic Pilot Feasibility Study

An interventional study of Breathing Exercises followed by Meditation in Glaucoma, Stress and Quality of Life, sponsored by London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Canada. Open to participants aged 40 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-11-22.

Sponsored by London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was expected by Sep 2025, 1 year 1 month ago, but the record still lists the study as not yet recruiting.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
60
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
40 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
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Study summary

The goal of this electronic feasibility clinical trial study is to evaluate the effects of breathing and meditation techniques on stress levels in patients with glaucoma.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Does breathing and meditation decrease the level of stress in glaucoma patients?
  • Does breathing and meditation improve disease specific quality of life in glaucoma patients
  • Does breathing and meditation affect the importance that in glaucoma patients place on future consequences? Participants will participate in online session where they will be taught proper breathing and meditation technique to practice. They will also be completing online questionnaires following independent practice sessions over time.

Researchers will compare the breathing and meditation group to the usual care group to see if the outcomes are different.

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Conditions studied

  • Glaucoma
  • Stress
  • Quality of Life

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Keywords

  • Glaucoma
  • Breathing
  • Meditation
  • Stress
  • Quality of life
  • Future consequences
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In context

Glaucoma

1,818 studies on the registry are indexed under Glaucoma; 231 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 60 is close to the median of 65 across 1,272 interventional studies indexed under Glaucoma.

Browse Glaucoma studies →

Lead sponsor

London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's is the lead sponsor of 309 studies on the registry; 126 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
40 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

Patients diagnosed with glaucoma. Being able to provide valid informed consent to participate in the research study.

Patients aged 40-65. Being able to read and understand English. Having no significant self-reported or physician-diagnosed mental health disorder.

Independent access to a computer to participate in virtual sessions. Must be able to sit comfortably for 30-35 minutes without any major pain or discomfort, can hear well enough to follow verbal instructions when the eyes are closed, and be in good general physical health.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

Inability to provide valid informed consent. Significant communication barriers or lack of English proficiency that prevents participants from completing the questionnaires.

Having a lifetime diagnosis of self-reported other serious mental disorders, including bipolar I or II disorder, primary psychotic disorder (schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder, delusional disorder).

Self-reported substance abuse or dependence within the past 3 months. Having acutely unstable medical illnesses, including delirium or acute cerebrovascular or cardiovascular events within the last 6 months.

Having irreversible vision loss that prevents one from completing the questionnaires.

Participation in a study involving similar techniques.

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Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Triple (Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
60 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Breathing Exercises followed by Meditation

    Breathing exercises and Meditation taught by Prasanna Wellness, a non-profit organization, helps dissolve stress and create a proper system in the mind. These breathing exercises include slow deep breaths and rapid breaths and are followed by meditation. Participants will receive three weekly online instructions (90 minutes each) by trained instructors in addition to standard care. Weekly 60 minutes follow-ups will include 10 minutes of breathing exercises followed by 33 minutes of guided meditation practice, and then focus on participants' experiences with breathing exercise followed by meditation during the week, additional observations, and a review of relevant knowledge to support their home practice.

    Behavioral: Breathing Exercises followed by Meditation

  • No intervention
    Treatment as Usual

    The usual standard of care for patients with glaucoma includes starting them on first line of drugs. Participants will be initiated and maintained on appropriate dosages of such medications as part of standard of care. The usual standard of care also includes an ophthalmic examination measuring best-corrected Snellen VA and pinhole acuities and a follow-up visit once a year.

Interventions

  • BehavioralBreathing Exercises followed by Meditation

    Breathing exercises and Meditation taught by Prasanna Wellness, a non-profit organization, helps dissolve stress and create a proper system in the mind. These breathing exercises include slow deep breaths and rapid breaths and are followed by meditation. Meditation is a guided meditation that helps to eliminate stress and establish an apposite system in the mind, therefore inducing physiological and mental relaxation whilst the eyes are shut. The proposed duration and frequency of the follow-up will be 60-minutes weekly for 11 weeks.

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Quality of Life (QoL)

    QoL helps physician identify hidden morbidity in clinical care as well as improves patient-physician communications. QoL will be measured using the 15-item Glaucoma Quality of Life (GQL-15) survey. The total score can range from 15 to 75, with higher scores indicating a poorer quality of life and a greater impact of glaucoma on one's well-being, and lower scores indicating a better quality of life and less impact of glaucoma on one's well-being.

    Time frame: Baseline visit, Week 1, Week 3, Week 6, Week 12

  2. Change in Perceived Stress

    Perceived stress refers to an individual's subjective assessment of the level of stress they experience in response to various life events or circumstances.10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). The total score can range from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress levels and greater psychological distress, while lower scores indicate lower perceived stress levels and less psychological distress.

    Time frame: Baseline visit, Week 1, Week 3, Week 6, Week 12

  3. Change in consideration of future consequences

    Consideration of Future Consequences scale (CFC-10). The total score can range from 10 to 50, with higher scores indicating a stronger consideration of future consequences in decision-making and a greater tendency to prioritize long-term outcomes over short-term rewards, while lower scores suggest a weaker consideration of future consequences and a greater focus on immediate gratification and short-term benefits.

    Time frame: Baseline visit, Week 1, Week 3, Week 6, Week 12

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Study locations

1 site
  • St. Joseph's Hospital, Ivey Eye Institute
    London, Ontario N6G0H8, Canada
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References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No — De-identified individual participant data (IPD) collected in this study will not be available to other researchers (e.g., outside the primary research group). Since the primary research group has the necessary expertise to analyze the data and do not need any outside help.

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Nov 22, 2023, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06144138
Lead sponsor
London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Nov 22, 2023
Start date
May 1, 2024 (estimated)
Primary completion
Sep 1, 2025 (estimated)
Completion
Nov 1, 2025 (estimated)
Last update
Nov 22, 2023

Study contacts

Monali Malvankar, PhD
Contact
monali.malvankar@schulich.uwo.ca
5192815260 ext. 61288

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Nov 2023. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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