Loneliness is a potent psychosocial stressor that predicts poor health and mortality among older adults, possibly in part by accelerating age-related declines in immunocompetence. Mindfulness interventions have shown promise for reducing loneliness and improving markers of physical health. In a sample of lonely older adults, this two-arm parallel trial tested whether mindfulness training enhances stimulated interleukin-6 (IL-6) production, a measure of innate immune responsivity. Lonely older adults (65–85 years; N = 190) were randomized to an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) or control Health Enhancement Program (HEP) intervention. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated production of IL-6 was measured in vitro by blinded outcome assessors at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up. Mixed-effects linear models tested time (pre, post, follow-up) by condition (MBSR vs. HEP) effects. As predicted, a significant time × condition effect on stimulated IL-6 production was observed across pre, post, and follow-up timepoints. Significant MBSR vs. HEP differences emerged from pre- to post-intervention (p =.009, d = 0.38) and from pre-intervention to 3-month follow-up (p =.017, d = 0.35), with larger increases in IL-6 production following MBSR compared to HEP. No study-related adverse events were reported. Results show that mindfulness training may be effective for boosting innate immunocompetence among lonely older adults. Given that immunocompetence tends to decline with age, mindfulness training may help to counteract the effects of aging and psychosocial stress on infection risk and recovery from injury.

孤独是一种潜在的社会心理压力源，可导致老年人健康状况不佳和死亡，部分原因可能是加速与年龄相关的免疫能力下降。正念干预已显示出减少孤独感和改善身体健康指标的希望。在孤独老年人的样本中，这项双臂平行试验测试了正念训练是否能增强白细胞介素 6 (IL-6) 的刺激产生，白细胞介素 6 是衡量先天免疫反应性的指标。孤独的老年人（65-85 岁；N = 190）被随机分配接受为期 8 周的正念减压 (MBSR) 或对照健康增强计划 (HEP) 干预。由盲法结果评估者在干预前、干预后和 3 个月随访时在体外测量脂多糖 (LPS) 刺激的 IL-6 产生。混合效应线性模型按条件（MBSR 与 HEP）效应测试时间（前、后、后续）。正如预测的那样，在前、后和后续时间点观察到对刺激的 IL-6 产生的显着时间×条件影响。从干预前到干预后（p  = 0.009，d  = 0.38）以及干预前到 3 个月随访（p  = 0.017，d  = 0.35），MBSR 与 HEP 存在显着差异，且增加幅度更大与 HEP 相比，MBSR 后的 IL-6 产量更高。没有报告与研究相关的不良事件。结果表明，正念训练可能有效提高孤独老年人的先天免疫能力。鉴于免疫能力往往会随着年龄的增长而下降，正念训练可能有助于抵消衰老和社会心理压力对感染风险和受伤恢复的影响。