Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40186267›Full record

ArticleSystematic reviews2025

Mind-body therapies and their interplay with the immune system in children and adolescents: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Steven Schepanski, Gonza B Ngoumou, Anna Katharina Koch, Marleen Schröter, Robert Roehle, Georg Seifert

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Systematic reviews, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Normal polysomnography parameters in healthy children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2026
    Pooled it
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Steven SchepanskiCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Charité Competence Center for Traditional and Integrative Medicine (CCCTIM), Berlin, Germany. steven.schepanski@charite.de.ORCID 0000-0002-7695-1289
Gonza B NgoumouCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Charité Competence Center for Traditional and Integrative Medicine (CCCTIM), Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-6501-732X
Anna Katharina KochCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Charité Competence Center for Traditional and Integrative Medicine (CCCTIM), Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-2565-8744
Marleen SchröterCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Charité Competence Center for Traditional and Integrative Medicine (CCCTIM), Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-7796-894X
Robert RoehleCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute for Biometry and Clinical Epidemiology, Berlin, Germany.
Georg SeifertCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Charité Competence Center for Traditional and Integrative Medicine (CCCTIM), Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-7109-9277

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundChronic inflammation is a critical public health concern that, in children and adolescents, increases the long-term risk of a variety of different health issues. While mind-body therapies like yoga, meditation, and acupuncture have shown promise in modulating immune responses in adults, their safety and effectiveness in pediatric populations remain underexplored. This protocol outlines the methodology for a systematic review and meta-analysis aimed at evaluating the effects of mind-body therapies on immune modulation in children and adolescents.

methodsThis systematic review and meta-analysis will follow PRISMA 2020 guidelines. We will include randomized controlled trials, non-randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, and case-control studies that examine the relationship between mind-body therapies and immune markers in pediatric populations. Electronic searches will be conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library, supplemented by trial registries. Risk of bias will be assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool (RoB 1), the Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I), and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Two independent reviewers will screen studies, extract data, and assess study quality, with a third reviewer resolving any discrepancies. Results will be synthesized both narratively and through meta-analysis using R software. DISCUSSION: The review will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of mind-body therapies on immune markers in children and adolescents. The synthesized evidence will guide clinical practice and public health policies in integrating mind-body therapies into pediatric care. The findings will also provide a foundation for future research and policymaking in this area. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42024546585.

Indexed as

Immune SystemInflammationMind-Body TherapiesAdolescentChildHumansMeta-Analysis as TopicResearch DesignSystematic Reviews as TopicAdolescentsChildrenComplementary medicineImmune systemInflammationMeta-analysisMind–body therapiesSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID40186267
PMCPMC11969903

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.