Effects of Compassion Meditation on Psychological Status in Patients With Diabetes: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Patients with diabetes often experience significant psychological distress, contributing to poor diabetes self-management and complications. Meditation may reduce psychological distress, but most meditation interventions have been lengthy and burdensome to both participants and interventionists. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the preliminary effects of a 4-week compassion meditation intervention with recorded Zoom sessions (30-40 minutes/session) on psychological factors (depressive symptoms, diabetes distress, self-compassion, resilience, self-esteem, and self-efficacy) in patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Methods: In this pilot randomized controlled trial, participants were recruited via ResearchMatch. Baseline and 4-week follow-up data on all the study variables and demographic characteristics were collected via Research Electronic Data Capture from April to July 2025. After baseline, each participant was randomly assigned to the intervention or control group based on a computer-generated list of random numbers. Independent samples t -tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, paired samples t -tests, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and analysis of covariance were used for data analysis. Results: Between-group analyses showed higher levels of diabetes self-efficacy and lower diabetes distress in the intervention group ( n = 17, mean age: 51.8 years) at 4-week follow-up compared with the control group ( n = 29, mean age: 51.7 years). Within-group analyses showed reductions in diabetes distress and improvements in self-compassion and self-efficacy in the intervention group, while self-esteem decreased in the control group from baseline to follow-up. Conclusions: This brief, virtual compassionate meditation intervention showed favorable effects on several psychological factors. It may be implemented to enhance psychological statuses in patients with diabetes.