Mindfulness apps have become popular tools for addressing symptoms of depression and anxiety. Since the publication of earlier meta-analyses evaluating the efficacy of mindfulness apps for depression and anxiety symptoms, over 20 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been conducted. There is a need for an updated meta-analysis that quantifies the effects of mindfulness apps on these symptoms and tests for potential moderators.. Random effects meta-analyses were conducted on 45 RCTs. Small, significant effect sizes were found for symptoms of depression (N_comp = 46, N = 5852, g = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.17, 0.31, NNT = 13.57) and anxiety (N_comp = 48, N = 6082, g = 0.28, 95% CI = 0.21, 0.35, NNT = 11.47) in favour of mindfulness apps over control groups. This effect was not explained by symptom deterioration in participants allocated to control groups. Effects remained stable when restricting analyses to lower risk of bias and larger sample trials. No significant moderators were observed, except trials that offered monetary compensation produced larger effects on depression. Non-significant effects were observed when comparing mindfulness apps to active therapeutic comparisons (g = −0.15 depression, g = 0.10 anxiety), though the number of studies was low. Growing evidence indicates that mindfulness apps can acutely reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, although higher quality studies with longer follow-ups are needed.

正念应用程序已成为解决抑郁和焦虑症状的流行工具。自从早期发表评估正念应用程序对抑郁和焦虑症状功效的荟萃分析以来，已经开展了 20 多项随机对照试验 (RCT)。需要更新荟萃分析来量化正念应用程序对这些症状的影响并测试潜在的调节因素。对 45 项随机对照试验进行了随机效应荟萃分析。抑郁症 ( N _comp  = 46, N  = 5852, g = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.17, 0.31, NNT = 13.57) 和焦虑症 ( N _comp  = 48, N  = 6082, g )的效应大小较小且显着= 0.28，95% CI = 0.21，0.35，NNT = 11.47）相比于对照组，正念应用程序更受青睐。这种效应不能用分配到对照组的参与者的症状恶化来解释。当限制分析以降低偏倚风险和更大样本试验时，效果保持稳定。除了提供货币补偿的试验对抑郁症产生更大的影响外，没有观察到显着的调节因素。 尽管研究数量较少，但在将正念应用程序与主动治疗比较（ g  = -0.15 抑郁症，g = 0.10 焦虑症）进行比较时，并未观察到显着效果。越来越多的证据表明，正念应用程序可以显着减轻抑郁和焦虑的症状，尽管还需要更高质量的研究和更长的随访时间。