1 223 132 A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON WEIGHT-RELATED OUTCOMES. INTRODUCTION: OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY ARE AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT MODIFIABLE RISK FACTORS FOR CHRONIC DISEASES AND PREMATURE DEATH. THE AIM OF THIS REVIEW WAS TO SYSTEMATICALLY ASSESS AND ANALYZE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON WEIGHT-RELATED OUTCOMES. METHODS: MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, AND THE COCHRANE LIBRARY WERE SCREENED THROUGH MARCH 2015 FOR RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS ON YOGA FOR WEIGHT-RELATED OUTCOMES IN THE GENERAL POPULATION OR OVERWEIGHT/OBESE INDIVIDUALS. RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE RISK OF BIAS TOOL ON THE FOLLOWING DOMAINS: SELECTION BIAS, PERFORMANCE BIAS, DETECTION BIAS, ATTRITION BIAS, REPORTING BIAS, AND OTHER BIAS. RESULTS: OUT OF 445 RECORDS IDENTIFIED DURING LITERATURE SEARCH, 30 TRIALS WITH A TOTAL OF 2173 PARTICIPANTS WERE INCLUDED. NO EFFECTS ON WEIGHT, BODY MASS INDEX, BODY FAT PERCENTAGE OR WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE WERE FOUND. IN STUDIES WITH HEALTHY ADULT PARTICIPANTS AN EFFECT OF YOGA COMPARED TO USUAL CARE WAS FOUND REGARDING WAIST/HIP RATIO (SMD=--1.00; 95% CI=--1.44, -0.55; P<0.001). IN STUDIES WITH OVERWEIGHT/OBESE PARTICIPANTS ONLY, EFFECTS RELATIVE TO USUAL CARE WERE FOUND FOR BODY MASS INDEX (SMD=-0.99; 95% CI=-1.67, -0.31; P=0.004). EFFECTS HOWEVER WERE NOT ROBUST AGAINST SELECTION BIAS; AND PUBLICATION BIAS COULD NOT BE RULED OUT. NO INTERVENTION-RELATED ADVERSE EVENTS WERE REPORTED. CONCLUSIONS: DESPITE METHODOLOGICAL DRAWBACKS, YOGA CAN BE PRELIMINARILY CONSIDERED A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION TO REDUCE BODY MASS INDEX IN OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE INDIVIDUALS. 2016 2 2594 69 YOGA FOR METABOLIC SYNDROME: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND METABOLIC SYNDROME IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RISK FACTOR FOR DEVELOPING CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE AND TYPE 2 DIABETES. THE AIM OF THIS REVIEW WAS TO SYSTEMATICALLY ASSESS AND PERFORM A META-ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON THE PARAMETERS OF METABOLIC SYNDROME. METHODS MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, THE COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS AND INDMED WERE SEARCHED AND SCREENED FROM THEIR INCEPTION THROUGH TO 8 MARCH 2016 FOR RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS ON YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME. RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE RISK OF BIAS TOOL. RESULTS SEVEN TRIALS WITH A TOTAL OF 794 PARTICIPANTS WERE INCLUDED. NO EFFECTS OF YOGA ON RESOLUTION OF METABOLIC SYNDROME, DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, TRIGLYCERIDES, HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL AND FASTING PLASMA GLUCOSE WERE FOUND, BUT YOGA WAS SUPERIOR TO USUAL CARE FOR WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE (STANDARDISED MEAN DIFFERENCE (SMD) = -0.35; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI) = -0.57 TO -0.13; P < 0.01) AND SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (SMD = -0.29; 95% CI = -0.51 TO -0.07; P = 0.01). HOWEVER, THESE EFFECTS WERE NOT ROBUST AGAINST SELECTION BIAS. NO INTERVENTION-RELATED ADVERSE EVENTS WERE REPORTED. CONCLUSION BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THIS META-ANALYSIS, NO RECOMMENDATION CAN BE MADE FOR OR AGAINST YOGA IN ORDER TO INFLUENCE THE PARAMETERS OF METABOLIC SYNDROME. DESPITE METHODOLOGICAL DRAWBACKS, AND UNTIL FURTHER RESEARCH IS UNDERTAKEN, YOGA CAN BE PRELIMINARILY CONSIDERED AS A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION FOR REDUCING WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE AND SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE IN INDIVIDUALS WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME WHO ARE NOT ADHERING TO CONVENTIONAL FORMS OF EXERCISE. 2016 3 2612 45 YOGA FOR RHEUMATIC DISEASES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. OBJECTIVE: TO EVALUATE THE QUALITY OF EVIDENCE AND THE STRENGTH OF RECOMMENDATION FOR YOGA AS AN ANCILLARY INTERVENTION IN RHEUMATIC DISEASES. METHODS: MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY AND INDMED WERE SEARCHED THROUGH FEBRUARY 2013. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) COMPARING YOGA WITH CONTROL INTERVENTIONS IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATIC DISEASES WERE INCLUDED. TWO AUTHORS INDEPENDENTLY ASSESSED THE RISK OF BIAS USING THE COCHRANE BACK REVIEW GROUP RISK OF BIAS TOOL. THE QUALITY OF EVIDENCE AND THE STRENGTH OF THE RECOMMENDATION FOR OR AGAINST YOGA WERE GRADED ACCORDING TO THE GRADE RECOMMENDATIONS. RESULTS: EIGHT RCTS WITH A TOTAL OF 559 SUBJECTS WERE INCLUDED; TWO RCTS HAD A LOW RISK OF BIAS. IN TWO RCTS ON FM SYNDROME, THERE WAS VERY LOW EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS ON PAIN AND LOW EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS ON DISABILITY. IN THREE RCTS ON OA, THERE WAS VERY LOW EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS ON PAIN AND DISABILITY. BASED ON TWO RCTS, VERY LOW EVIDENCE WAS FOUND FOR EFFECTS ON PAIN IN RA. NO EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS ON PAIN WAS FOUND IN ONE RCT ON CTS. NO RCT EXPLICITLY REPORTED SAFETY DATA. CONCLUSION: BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THIS REVIEW, ONLY WEAK RECOMMENDATIONS CAN BE MADE FOR THE ANCILLARY USE OF YOGA IN THE MANAGEMENT OF FM SYNDROME, OA AND RA AT THIS POINT. 2013 4 2540 60 YOGA FOR ANXIETY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. YOGA HAS BECOME A POPULAR APPROACH TO IMPROVE EMOTIONAL HEALTH. THE AIM OF THIS REVIEW WAS TO SYSTEMATICALLY ASSESS AND META-ANALYZE THE EFFECTIVENESS AND SAFETY OF YOGA FOR ANXIETY. MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, PSYCINFO, AND INDMED WERE SEARCHED THROUGH OCTOBER 2016 FOR RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) OF YOGA FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH ANXIETY DISORDERS OR ELEVATED LEVELS OF ANXIETY. THE PRIMARY OUTCOMES WERE ANXIETY AND REMISSION RATES, AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES WERE DEPRESSION, QUALITY OF LIFE, AND SAFETY. RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE TOOL. EIGHT RCTS WITH 319 PARTICIPANTS (MEAN AGE: 30.0-38.5 YEARS) WERE INCLUDED. RISK OF SELECTION BIAS WAS UNCLEAR FOR MOST RCTS. META-ANALYSES REVEALED EVIDENCE FOR SMALL SHORT-TERM EFFECTS OF YOGA ON ANXIETY COMPARED TO NO TREATMENT (STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE [SMD] = -0.43; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI] = -0.74, -0.11; P = .008), AND LARGE EFFECTS COMPARED TO ACTIVE COMPARATORS (SMD = -0.86; 95% CI = -1.56, -0.15; P = .02). SMALL EFFECTS ON DEPRESSION WERE FOUND COMPARED TO NO TREATMENT (SMD = -0.35; 95% CI = -0.66, -0.04; P = .03). EFFECTS WERE ROBUST AGAINST POTENTIAL METHODOLOGICAL BIAS. NO EFFECTS WERE FOUND FOR PATIENTS WITH ANXIETY DISORDERS DIAGNOSED BY DIAGNOSTIC AND STATISTICAL MANUAL CRITERIA, ONLY FOR PATIENTS DIAGNOSED BY OTHER METHODS, AND FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH ELEVATED LEVELS OF ANXIETY WITHOUT A FORMAL DIAGNOSIS. ONLY THREE RCTS REPORTED SAFETY-RELATED DATA BUT THESE INDICATED THAT YOGA WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED INJURIES. IN CONCLUSION, YOGA MIGHT BE AN EFFECTIVE AND SAFE INTERVENTION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH ELEVATED LEVELS OF ANXIETY. THERE WAS INCONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS OF YOGA IN ANXIETY DISORDERS. MORE HIGH-QUALITY STUDIES ARE NEEDED AND ARE WARRANTED GIVEN THESE PRELIMINARY FINDINGS AND PLAUSIBLE MECHANISMS OF ACTION. 2018 5 355 46 ASSOCIATED FACTORS AND CONSEQUENCES OF RISK OF BIAS IN RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS OF YOGA: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. BACKGROUND: BIAS IN RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) OF COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY INTERVENTIONS SEEMS TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH SPECIFIC FACTORS AND TO POTENTIALLY DISTORT THE STUDIES' CONCLUSIONS. THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW ASSESSED ASSOCIATED FACTORS OF RISK OF BIAS AND CONSEQUENCES FOR THE STUDIES' CONCLUSIONS IN RCTS OF YOGA AS ONE OF THE MOST COMMONLY USED COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES. METHODS: MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, INDMED AND THE COCHRANE LIBRARY WERE SEARCHED THROUGH FEBRUARY 2014 FOR YOGA RCTS. RISK OF SELECTION BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE TOOL AND REGRESSED TO A) PUBLICATION YEAR; B) COUNTRY OF ORIGIN; C) JOURNAL TYPE; AND D) IMPACT FACTOR USING MULTIPLE LOGISTIC REGRESSION ANALYSIS. LIKEWISE, THE AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS WERE REGRESSED TO RISK OF BIAS. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 312 RCTS WERE INCLUDED. IMPACT FACTOR RANGED FROM 0.0 TO 39.2 (MEDIAN = 1.3); 60 RCT (19.2%) HAD A LOW RISK OF SELECTION BIAS, AND 252 (80.8%) HAD A HIGH OR UNCLEAR RISK OF SELECTION BIAS. ONLY PUBLICATION YEAR AND IMPACT FACTOR SIGNIFICANTLY PREDICTED LOW RISK OF BIAS; RCTS PUBLISHED AFTER 2001 (ADJUSTED ODDS RATIO (OR) = 12.6; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI) = 1.7, 94.0; P<0.001) AND THOSE PUBLISHED IN JOURNALS WITH IMPACT FACTOR (ADJUSTED OR = 2.6; 95%CI = 1.4, 4.9; P = 0.004) WERE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE LOW RISK OF BIAS. THE AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS WERE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH RISK OF BIAS. CONCLUSIONS: RISK OF SELECTION BIAS WAS GENERALLY HIGH IN RCTS OF YOGA; ALTHOUGH THE SITUATION HAS IMPROVED SINCE THE PUBLICATION OF THE REVISED CONSORT STATEMENT 2001. PRE-CONSORT RCTS AND THOSE PUBLISHED IN JOURNALS WITHOUT IMPACT FACTOR SHOULD BE HANDLED WITH INCREASED CARE; ALTHOUGH RISK OF BIAS IS UNLIKELY TO DISTORT THE RCTS' CONCLUSIONS. 2015 6 231 45 A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF YOGA FOR HEART DISEASE. BACKGROUND: THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) AIMED TO EVALUATE THE QUALITY OF EVIDENCE AND THE STRENGTH OF RECOMMENDATION FOR YOGA AS AN ANCILLARY INTERVENTION FOR HEART DISEASE. METHODS: MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, AND INDMED WERE SEARCHED UP TO OCTOBER 2013. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES WERE MORTALITY, NONFATAL CARDIAC EVENTS, EXERCISE CAPACITY, HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE, AND MODIFIABLE CARDIAC RISK FACTORS. RISK OF BIAS, QUALITY OF EVIDENCE, AND THE STRENGTH OF THE RECOMMENDATION FOR OR AGAINST YOGA WERE ASSESSED ACCORDING TO THE COCHRANE COLLABORATION AND GRADE RECOMMENDATIONS. RESULTS: SEVEN RCTS WITH 624 PATIENTS COMPARING YOGA TO USUAL CARE WERE INCLUDED. FOR CORONARY HEART DISEASE (FOUR RCTS), THERE WAS VERY LOW EVIDENCE FOR NO EFFECT ON MORTALITY, FOR A REDUCED NUMBER OF ANGINA EPISODES, AND FOR INCREASED EXERCISE CAPACITY, AND LOW EVIDENCE FOR REDUCED MODIFIABLE CARDIAC RISK FACTORS. FOR HEART FAILURE (TWO RCTS), THERE WAS VERY LOW EVIDENCE FOR NO EFFECT ON MORTALITY, AND LOW EVIDENCE FOR INCREASED EXERCISE CAPACITY, AND FOR NO EFFECT ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE. FOR CARDIAC DYSRHYTHMIAS TREATED WITH IMPLANTABLE CARDIOVERTER-DEFIBRILLATOR (ONE RCT), THERE WAS VERY LOW EVIDENCE FOR NO EFFECT ON MORTALITY, AND FOR IMPROVED QUALITY, AND LOW EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS ON NONFATAL DEVICE-TREATED VENTRICULAR EVENTS. THREE RCTS REPORTED SAFETY DATA AND REPORTED THAT NO ADVERSE EVENTS OCCURRED. CONCLUSIONS: BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THIS REVIEW, WEAK RECOMMENDATIONS CAN BE MADE FOR THE ANCILLARY USE OF YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH CORONARY HEART DISEASE, HEART FAILURE, AND CARDIAC DYSRHYTHMIA AT THIS POINT. 2015 7 1055 35 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON CHRONIC NECK PAIN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. [PURPOSE] THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC NECK PAIN. [SUBJECTS AND METHODS] FIVE ELECTRONIC DATABASES WERE SEARCHED TO IDENTIFY RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) OF YOGA INTERVENTION ON CHRONIC NECK PAIN. THE TRIALS WERE PUBLISHED IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE BETWEEN JANUARY 1966 AND DECEMBER 2015. THE COCHRANE RISK OF BIAS TOOL WAS USED TO ASSESS THE QUALITY OF THE TRIALS. [RESULTS] THREE TRIALS WERE IDENTIFIED AND INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW. A CRITICAL APPRAISAL WAS PERFORMED ON THE TRIALS, AND THE RESULT INDICATED A HIGH RISK OF BIAS. A NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION WAS PROCESSED BECAUSE OF THE SMALL NUMBER OF RCTS. NECK PAIN INTENSITY AND FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN THE YOGA GROUPS THAN IN THE CONTROL GROUPS. [CONCLUSION] EVIDENCE FROM THE 3 RANDOMLY CONTROLLED TRIALS SHOWS THAT YOGA MAY BE BENEFICIAL FOR CHRONIC NECK PAIN. THE LOW-QUALITY RESULT OF THE CRITICAL APPRAISAL AND THE SMALL NUMBER OF TRIALS SUGGEST THAT HIGH-QUALITY RCTS ARE REQUIRED TO EXAMINE FURTHER THE EFFECTS OF YOGA INTERVENTION ON CHRONIC NECK PAIN RELIEF. 2016 8 1064 36 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON IMMUNE FUNCTION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. OBJECTIVE: THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW ATTEMPTS TO CONFIRM THE ADDED EVIDENCE TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON IMMUNE FUNCTION. METHODS: THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, EMBASE, PSYCINFO, PUBMED, AND WEB OF SCIENCE ELECTRONIC DATABASES WERE SEARCHED ACCORDING TO THE PRISRMA METHOD TO IDENTIFY RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) ON THE IMMUNOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF YOGA PUBLISHED IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE FROM JANUARY 1, 2017, TO DECEMBER 31, 2020. THIS REVIEW COULD ONLY BE DESCRIPTIVELY SUMMARIZED BECAUSE OF HETEROGENEITY OF THE INCLUDED RCTS. RESULTS: ELEVEN POTENTIAL TRIALS WERE IDENTIFIED AND INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW. QUALITY APPRAISAL OF INCLUDED TRIALS RANGED FROM 3 FOR UNCLEAR RISK OF BIAS AND 8 FOR HIGH RISK OF BIAS. THERE IS EVIDENCE FROM 11 RCTS THAT YOGA MAY HAVE FAVORABLE EFFECTS FOR REDUCING THE LEVELS OF ANTI-INFLAMMATORY MARKERS. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA MAY BE USED AS A COMPLEMENTARY INTERVENTION FOR CLINICAL POPULATIONS OR HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS. 2021 9 2144 43 THE EFFECTS OF MEDITATION, YOGA, AND MINDFULNESS ON DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND STRESS IN TERTIARY EDUCATION STUDENTS: A META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND: MEDITATION, YOGA, AND MINDFULNESS ARE POPULAR INTERVENTIONS AT UNIVERSITIES AND TERTIARY EDUCATION INSTITUTES TO IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH. HOWEVER, THE EFFECTS ON DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND STRESS ARE UNCLEAR. THIS STUDY ASSESSED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MEDITATION, YOGA, AND MINDFULNESS ON SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND STRESS IN TERTIARY EDUCATION STUDENTS. METHODS: WE SEARCHED COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS (CENTRAL), PUBMED, PSYCINFO AND IDENTIFIED 11,936 ARTICLES. AFTER RETRIEVING 181 PAPERS FOR FULL-TEXT SCREENING, 24 RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS WERE INCLUDED IN THE QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS. WE CONDUCTED A RANDOM-EFFECTS META-ANALYSIS AMONGST 23 STUDIES WITH 1,373 PARTICIPANTS. RESULTS: AT POST-TEST, AFTER EXCLUSION OF OUTLIERS, EFFECT SIZES FOR DEPRESSION, G = 0.42 (95% CI: 0.16-0.69), ANXIETY G = 0.46 (95% CI: 0.34-0.59), STRESS G = 0.42 (95% CI: 0.27-0.57) WERE MODERATE. HETEROGENEITY WAS LOW (I (2) = 6%). WHEN COMPARED TO ACTIVE CONTROL, THE EFFECT DECREASED TO G = 0.13 (95% CI: -0.18-0.43). NO RCT REPORTED ON SAFETY, ONLY TWO STUDIES REPORTED ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, MOST STUDIES HAD A HIGH RISK OF BIAS. CONCLUSIONS: MOST STUDIES WERE OF POOR QUALITY AND RESULTS SHOULD BE INTERPRETED WITH CAUTION. OVERALL MODERATE EFFECTS WERE FOUND WHICH DECREASED SUBSTANTIALLY WHEN INTERVENTIONS WERE COMPARED TO ACTIVE CONTROL. IT IS UNCLEAR WHETHER MEDITATION, YOGA OR MINDFULNESS AFFECT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OR AFFECT HAVE ANY NEGATIVE SIDE EFFECTS. 2019 10 1109 44 EFFECTS OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN HEALTHY OLDER ADULTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. BACKGROUND: THE WORLD'S ELDERLY POPULATION IS GROWING. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY HAS POSITIVE EFFECTS ON HEALTH AND COGNITION, BUT IS DECREASING AMONG THE ELDERLY. INTEREST IN YOGA-BASED EXERCISES HAS INCREASED IN THIS POPULATION, ESPECIALLY AS AN INTERVENTION TARGETING BALANCE, FLEXIBILITY, STRENGTH, AND WELL-BEING. RECENT INTEREST HAS ARISEN REGARDING YOGA'S POTENTIAL BENEFITS FOR COGNITION. OBJECTIVE: TO SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEW EVIDENCE FROM RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING IN HEALTHY ADULTS AGED >/=60. A SECONDARY AIM WAS TO DESCRIBE INTERVENTION CHARACTERISTICS AND, WHERE POSSIBLE, THE EXTENT TO WHICH THESE INFLUENCED STUDY OUTCOMES. METHOD: THE REVIEW WAS CONDUCTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH PRISMA GUIDELINES. SEARCHES WERE PERFORMED FROM INCEPTION TO JUNE 2020 USING THE FOLLOWING ELECTRONIC DATABASES: (1) PUBMED (NLM); (2) EMBASE (ELSEVIER); (3) COCHRANE CENTRAL (WILEY); (4) PSYCINFO (EBSCOHOST); AND (5) CINAHL (EBSCOHOST). INCLUSION CRITERIA: RCTS OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS ASSESSING COGNITION IN HEALTHY ADULTS >/=60 YEARS. RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE REVISED COCHRANE RISK OF BIAS TOOL. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 1466 RECORDS WERE INITIALLY IDENTIFIED; SIX STUDIES (5 UNIQUE TRIALS) WERE INCLUDED IN THE REVIEW. FOUR OF THE SIX ARTICLES REPORTED SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS ON COGNITION, INCLUDING GROSS MEMORY FUNCTIONING AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS. INTERVENTION CHARACTERISTICS AND ASSESSMENT METHODS VARIED BETWEEN STUDIES, WITH A HIGH OVERALL RISK OF BIAS IN ALL STUDIES. CONCLUSION: YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVEMENTS IN COGNITION IN HEALTHY OLDER ADULTS. ADEQUATELY POWERED RCTS WITH ROBUST STUDY DESIGNS AND LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UPS ARE REQUIRED. FUTURE STUDIES SHOULD EXPLICITLY REPORT THE INTERVENTION CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES IN COGNITIVE FUNCTION. 2021 11 2573 42 YOGA FOR ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS THOUGHT TO BE EFFECTIVE FOR HEALTH CONDITIONS. THE ARTICLE AIMS TO ASSESS THE CURRENT CLINICAL EVIDENCE OF YOGA FOR ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION (EH). STRATEGY: MEDLINE, EMBASE, AND THE COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS (CENTRAL) IN THE COCHRANE LIBRARY WERE SEARCHED UNTIL JUNE, 2013. WE INCLUDED RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIALS TESTING YOGA AGAINST CONVENTIONAL THERAPY, YOGA VERSUS NO TREATMENT, YOGA COMBINED WITH CONVENTIONAL THERAPY VERSUS CONVENTIONAL THERAPY OR CONVENTIONAL THERAPY COMBINED WITH BREATH AWARENESS. STUDY SELECTION, DATA EXTRACTION, QUALITY ASSESSMENT, AND DATA ANALYSES WERE CONDUCTED ACCORDING TO THE COCHRANE STANDARDS. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 6 STUDIES (INVOLVING 386 PATIENTS) WERE INCLUDED. THE METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY OF THE INCLUDED TRIALS WAS EVALUATED AS GENERALLY LOW. A TOTAL OF 6 RCTS MET ALL THE INCLUSION CRITERIA. 4 OF THEM COMPARED YOGA PLUS CONVENTIONAL THERAPY WITH CONVENTIONAL THERAPY. 1 RCT DESCRIBED YOGA COMBINED WITH CONVENTIONAL THERAPY VERSUS CONVENTIONAL THERAPY COMBINED WITH BREATH AWARENESS. 2 RCT TESTED THE EFFECT OF YOGA VERSUS CONVENTIONAL THERAPY ALONE. 1 RCT DESCRIBED YOGA COMPARED TO NO TREATMENT. ONLY ONE TRIAL REPORTED ADVERSE EVENTS WITHOUT DETAILS, THE SAFETY OF YOGA IS STILL UNCERTAIN. CONCLUSIONS: THERE IS SOME ENCOURAGING EVIDENCE OF YOGA FOR LOWERING SBP AND DBP. HOWEVER, DUE TO LOW METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY OF THESE IDENTIFIED TRIALS, A DEFINITE CONCLUSION ABOUT THE EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF YOGA ON EH CANNOT BE DRAWN FROM THIS REVIEW. THEREFORE, FURTHER THOROUGH INVESTIGATION, LARGE-SCALE, PROPER STUDY DESIGNED, RANDOMIZED TRIALS OF YOGA FOR HYPERTENSION WILL BE REQUIRED TO JUSTIFY THE EFFECTS REPORTED HERE. 2013 12 2742 47 YOGA PRACTICE FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF TYPE II DIABETES MELLITUS IN ADULTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. THE EFFECT OF PRACTICING YOGA FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF TYPE II DIABETES WAS ASSESSED IN THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW THROUGH SEARCHING RELATED ELECTRONIC DATABASES AND THE GREY LITERATURE TO THE END OF MAY 2007 USING OVID. ALL RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED CLINICAL TRIALS (RCTS) COMPARING YOGA PRACTICE WITH OTHER TYPE OF INTERVENTION OR WITH REGULAR PRACTICE OR BOTH, WERE INCLUDED REGARDLESS OF LANGUAGE OR TYPE OF PUBLICATION. EACH STUDY WAS ASSESSED FOR QUALITY BY TWO INDEPENDENT REVIEWERS. MEAN DIFFERENCE WAS USED FOR SUMMARIZING THE EFFECT OF EACH STUDY OUTCOMES WITH 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS. POOLING OF THE STUDIES DID NOT TAKE PLACE DUE TO THE WIDE CLINICAL VARIATION BETWEEN THE STUDIES. PUBLICATION BIAS WAS ASSESSED BY STATISTICAL METHODS. FIVE TRIALS WITH 363 PARTICIPANTS MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA WITH MEDIUM TO HIGH RISK OF BIAS AND DIFFERENT INTERVENTION CHARACTERISTICS. THE STUDIES' RESULTS SHOW IMPROVEMENT IN OUTCOMES AMONG PATIENTS WITH DIABETES TYPE II. THESE IMPROVEMENTS WERE MAINLY AMONG SHORT TERM OR IMMEDIATE DIABETES OUTCOMES AND NOT ALL WERE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. THE RESULTS WERE INCONCLUSIVE AND NOT SIGNIFICANT FOR THE LONG-TERM OUTCOMES. NO ADVERSE EFFECTS WERE REPORTED IN ANY OF THE INCLUDED STUDIES. SHORT-TERM BENEFITS FOR PATIENTS WITH DIABETES MAY BE ACHIEVED FROM PRACTICING YOGA. FURTHER RESEARCH IS NEEDED IN THIS AREA. FACTORS LIKE QUALITY OF THE TRIALS AND OTHER METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES SHOULD BE IMPROVED BY LARGE RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS WITH ALLOCATION CONCEALMENT TO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA ON DIABETES TYPE II. A DEFINITIVE RECOMMENDATION FOR PHYSICIANS TO ENCOURAGE THEIR PATIENTS TO PRACTICE YOGA CANNOT BE REACHED AT PRESENT. 2010 13 2597 57 YOGA FOR MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. WHILE YOGA SEEMS TO BE EFFECTIVE IN A NUMBER OF NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS, THE EVIDENCE OF EFFICACY IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS REMAINS UNCLEAR. THE AIM OF THIS REVIEW WAS TO SYSTEMATICALLY ASSESS AND META-ANALYZE THE AVAILABLE DATA ON EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, THE COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS, PSYCINFO, CAM-QUEST, CAMBASE, AND INDMED WERE SEARCHED THROUGH MARCH 2014. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) OF YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS WERE INCLUDED IF THEY ASSESSED HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE, FATIGUE, AND/OR MOBILITY. MOOD, COGNITIVE FUNCTION, AND SAFETY WERE DEFINED AS SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES. RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE TOOL. SEVEN RCTS WITH A TOTAL OF 670 PATIENTS WERE INCLUDED. EVIDENCE FOR SHORT-TERM EFFECTS OF YOGA COMPARED TO USUAL CARE WERE FOUND FOR FATIGUE (STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE [SMD] = -0.52; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CI) = -1.02 TO -0.02; P = 0.04; HETEROGENEITY: I2 = 60%; CHI2 = 7.43; P = 0.06) AND MOOD (SMD = -0.55; 95%CI = -0.96 TO -0.13; P = 0.01; HETEROGENEITY: I2 = 0%; CHI2 = 1.25; P = 0.53), BUT NOT FOR HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE, MUSCLE FUNCTION, OR COGNITIVE FUNCTION. THE EFFECTS ON FATIGUE AND MOOD WERE NOT ROBUST AGAINST BIAS. NO SHORT-TERM OR LONGER TERM EFFECTS OF YOGA COMPARED TO EXERCISE WERE FOUND. YOGA WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS. IN CONCLUSION, SINCE NO METHODOLOGICAL SOUND EVIDENCE WAS FOUND, NO RECOMMENDATION CAN BE MADE REGARDING YOGA AS A ROUTINE INTERVENTION FOR PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. YOGA MIGHT BE CONSIDERED A TREATMENT OPTION FOR PATIENTS WHO ARE NOT ADHERENT TO RECOMMENDED EXERCISE REGIMENS. 2014 14 590 43 DETERMINING THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF YOGA IN CHRONIC STROKE CARE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND: SURVIVORS OF STROKE HAVE LONG-TERM PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES THAT IMPACT THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE. FEW INTERVENTIONS ARE AVAILABLE IN THE COMMUNITY TO ADDRESS THESE PROBLEMS. YOGA, A TYPE OF MINDFULNESS-BASED INTERVENTION, IS SHOWN TO BE EFFECTIVE IN PEOPLE WITH OTHER CHRONIC ILLNESSES AND MAY HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO ADDRESS MANY OF THE PROBLEMS REPORTED BY SURVIVORS OF STROKE. OBJECTIVES: TO DATE ONLY NARRATIVE REVIEWS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED. WE SOUGHT TO PERFORM, THE FIRST SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WITH META-ANALYSES OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) THAT INVESTIGATED YOGA FOR ITS POTENTIAL BENEFIT FOR CHRONIC SURVIVORS OF STROKE. METHODS: OVID MEDLINE, CINHAL PLUS, AMED, PUBMED, PSYCHINFO, PEDRO, COCHRANE DATABASE, SPORT DISCUSS, AND GOOGLE SCHOLAR WERE SEARCHED FOR PAPERS PUBLISHED BETWEEN JANUARY 1950 AND AUGUST 2016. REFERENCE LISTS OF INCLUDED PAPERS, REVIEW ARTICLES AND OPENGREY FOR GREY LITERATURE WERE ALSO SEARCHED. WE USED A MODIFIED COCHRANE TOOL TO EVALUATE RISK OF BIAS. THE METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY OF RCTS WAS ASSESSED USING THE GRADE APPROACH, RESULTS WERE COLLATED, AND RANDOM EFFECTS META-ANALYSES PERFORMED WHERE APPROPRIATE. RESULTS: THE SEARCH YIELDED FIVE ELIGIBLE PAPERS FROM FOUR RCTS WITH SMALL SAMPLE SIZES (N = 17-47). QUALITY OF RCTS WAS RATED AS LOW TO MODERATE. YOGA IS BENEFICIAL IN REDUCING STATE ANXIETY SYMPTOMS AND DEPRESSION IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP (MEAN DIFFERENCES FOR STATE ANXIETY 6.05, 95% CI:-0.02 TO 12.12; P = 0.05 AND STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCES FOR DEPRESSION: 0.50, 95% CI:-0.01 TO 1.02; P = 0.05). CONSISTENT BUT NONSIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS WERE DEMONSTRATED FOR BALANCE, TRAIT ANXIETY, AND OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA MAY BE EFFECTIVE FOR AMELIORATING SOME OF THE LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES OF STROKE. LARGE WELL-DESIGNED RCTS ARE NEEDED TO CONFIRM THESE FINDINGS. 2017 15 1043 38 EFFECTS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS ON FATIGUE: A META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND. RESEARCHERS AIMED AT SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEWING AND META-ANALYZING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR FATIGUE. METHODS. PUBMED/MEDLINE WAS SEARCHED UNTIL JANUARY 2012 FOR CONTROLLED CLINICAL STUDIES. TWO REVIEWERS INDEPENDENTLY EXTRACTED THE DATA. THE METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY OF THE STUDIES WAS ASSESSED. A META-ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED. RESULTS. NINETEEN CLINICAL STUDIES (TOTAL N = 948) WERE INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW. INVESTIGATED YOGA STYLES INCLUDED HATHA, IYENGAR, ASANAS, PATANJALI, SAHAJA, AND TIBETAN YOGA. PARTICIPANTS WERE SUFFERING FROM CANCER, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, DIALYSIS, CHRONIC PANCREATITIS, FIBROMYALGIA, ASTHMA, OR WERE HEALTHY. YOGA HAD A SMALL POSITIVE EFFECT ON FATIGUE (SMD = 0.27, 59% CI = 0.23-0.31). SEVEN STUDIES RECEIVED 4 POINTS ON THE JADAD SCORE. THERE WERE BASELINE DIFFERENCES IN AT LEAST 5 STUDIES. CONCLUSION. OVERALL, THE EFFECTS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS ON FATIGUE WERE ONLY SMALL, PARTICULARLY IN CANCER PATIENTS. ALTHOUGH YOGA IS GENERALLY A SAFE THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION AND EFFECTIVE TO ATTENUATE OTHER HEALTH-RELATED SYMPTOMS, THIS META-ANALYSIS WAS NOT ABLE TO DEFINE THE POWERFUL EFFECT OF YOGA ON PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM FATIGUE. TREATMENT EFFECTS OF YOGA COULD BE IMPROVED IN WELL-DESIGNED FUTURE STUDIES. ACCORDING TO THE GRADE RECOMMENDATIONS ASSESSING THE OVERALL QUALITY OF EVIDENCE, THERE IS A MODERATE EFFECT OF THE CONFIDENCE PLACED IN THE ESTIMATES OF THE EFFECTS DISCUSSED HERE. 2012 16 1058 53 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON EATING DISORDERS-A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. BACKGROUND: THE QUESTION OF WHETHER YOGA PRACTICE AMELIORATES OR EVEN AGGRAVATES EATING DISORDERS IS CURRENTLY UNDER DEBATE. THE AIM OF THIS REVIEW WAS TO SYSTEMATICALLY ASSESS AND THE EFFECTIVENESS AND SAFETY OF YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH EATING DISORDERS. METHODS: MEDLINE/PUBMED, PSYCINFO, AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE COLLECTION WERE SCREENED THROUGH JULY 2018 FOR RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS, NON-RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS AND LONGITUDINAL OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES ON YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH EATING DISORDERS AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS WITH DISORDERED EATING AND/OR BODY DISSATISFACTION. RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE RISK OF BIAS TOOL AND THE NEWCASTLE-OTTAWA QUALITY ASSESSMENT SCALE. RESULTS: EIGHT RANDOMIZED TRIALS AND FOUR UNCONTROLLED TRIALS INVOLVING A TOTAL OF 495 PARTICIPANTS WERE INCLUDED. RISK OF BIAS WAS MIXED. COMPARING YOGA TO UNTREATED CONTROL GROUPS, EFFECT SIZES RANGED FROM NEGLIGIBLE EFFECTS OF D=0.02 TO VERY LARGE EFFECTS OF D=2.15. HOWEVER, MOST EFFECTS WERE SMALL TO MODERATELY SIZED AND IN MOST CASES NOT SIGNIFICANT. NO SAFETY-RELATED DATA WERE REPORTED. CONCLUSIONS: THERE IS LIMITED EVIDENCE ON THE EFFECTIVENESS AND SAFETY OF YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH EATING DISORDERS. YOGA CAN BE PRELIMINARILY CONSIDERED AS AN ADDITIONAL TREATMENT OPTION IN MULTIMODAL PSYCHIATRIC TREATMENT PROGRAMS. 2019 17 2683 45 YOGA IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC DISEASE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND: HEART DISEASE, STROKE, AND CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD) ARE THE LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH AND DISABILITY WORLDWIDE. ALTHOUGH INDIVIDUALS WITH THESE CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN REPORTED TO BENEFIT FROM YOGA, ITS EFFECTIVENESS REMAINS UNCLEAR. OBJECTIVE: TO PERFORM A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA ON EXERCISE CAPACITY, HEALTH RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQL), AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH CHRONIC DISEASE AND DESCRIBE THE STRUCTURE AND DELIVERY OF PROGRAMS. RESEARCH DESIGN: WE PERFORMED A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS EXAMINING YOGA PROGRAMS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH HEART DISEASE, STROKE, AND COPD COMPARED WITH USUAL CARE. QUALITY WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE RISK OF BIAS TOOL. META-ANALYSES WERE CONDUCTED USING REVIEW MANAGER 5.3. THE PROTOCOL WAS REGISTERED ON PROSPERO (CRD42014014589). RESULTS: TEN STUDIES (431 INDIVIDUALS, MEAN AGE 56+/-8 Y) WERE INCLUDED AND WERE COMPARABLE IN THEIR DESIGN AND COMPONENTS, IRRESPECTIVE OF THE CHRONIC DISEASE. THE STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE FOR THE MEAN CHANGE IN EXERCISE CAPACITY WAS 2.69 (95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, 1.39-3.99) AND FOR HRQL IT WAS 1.24 (95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, -0.37 TO 2.85). SYMPTOMS OF ANXIETY WERE REDUCED AFTER YOGA IN INDIVIDUALS WITH STROKE, ALTHOUGH THIS WAS NOT OBSERVED IN INDIVIDUALS WITH COPD. THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION VARIED ACROSS STUDIES WITH NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS COMPARED WITH USUAL CARE. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA PROGRAMS HAVE SIMILAR DESIGNS AND COMPONENTS ACROSS CHRONIC DISEASE POPULATIONS. COMPARED WITH USUAL CARE, YOGA RESULTED IN SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN EXERCISE CAPACITY AND A MEAN IMPROVEMENT IN HRQL. YOGA PROGRAMS MAY BE A USEFUL ADJUNCT TO FORMAL REHABILITATION PROGRAMS. 2015 18 308 40 AN EVIDENCE MAP OF YOGA FOR LOW BACK PAIN. OBJECTIVE: YOGA IS BEING INCREASINGLY STUDIED AS A TREATMENT STRATEGY FOR A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT CLINICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING LOW BACK PAIN (LBP). WE SET OUT TO CONDUCT AN EVIDENCE MAP OF YOGA FOR THE TREATMENT, PREVENTION AND RECURRENCE OF ACUTE OR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN (CLBP). METHODS: WE SEARCHED MEDLINE, COCHRANE DATABASE OF SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS, EMBASE, ALLIED AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE DATABASE AND CLINICALTRIALS.GOV FOR RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCT), SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS OR PLANNED STUDIES ON THE TREATMENT OR PREVENTION OF ACUTE BACK PAIN OR CLBP. TWO INDEPENDENT REVIEWERS SCREENED PAPERS FOR INCLUSION, EXTRACTED DATA AND ASSESSED THE QUALITY OF INCLUDED STUDIES. RESULTS: THREE ELIGIBLE SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS WERE IDENTIFIED THAT INCLUDED 10 RCTS (N=956) THAT EVALUATED YOGA FOR NON-SPECIFIC CLBP. WE DID NOT IDENTIFY ADDITIONAL RCTS BEYOND THOSE INCLUDED IN THE SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS. OUR SEARCH OF CLINICALTRIALS.GOV IDENTIFIED ONE SMALL (N=10) UNPUBLISHED TRIAL AND ONE LARGE (N=320) PLANNED CLINICAL TRIAL. THE MOST RECENT GOOD QUALITY SYSTEMATIC REVIEW INDICATED SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS FOR SHORT- AND LONG-TERM PAIN REDUCTION (N=6 TRIALS; STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE [SMD] -0.48; 95% CI, -0.65 TO -0.31; I(2)=0% AND N=5; SMD -0.33; 95% CI, -0.59 TO -0.07; I(2)=48%, RESPECTIVELY). LONG-TERM EFFECTS FOR BACK SPECIFIC DISABILITY WERE ALSO IDENTIFIED (N=5; SMD -0.35; 95% CI, -0.55 TO -0.15; I(2)=20%). NO STUDIES WERE IDENTIFIED EVALUATING YOGA FOR PREVENTION OR TREATMENT OF ACUTE LBP. CONCLUSION: EVIDENCE SUGGESTS BENEFIT OF YOGA IN MIDLIFE ADULTS WITH NON-SPECIFIC CLBP FOR SHORT- AND LONG-TERM PAIN AND BACK-SPECIFIC DISABILITY, BUT THE EFFECTS OF YOGA FOR HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE, WELL- BEING AND ACUTE LBP ARE UNCERTAIN. WITHOUT ADDITIONAL STUDIES, FURTHER SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS ARE UNLIKELY TO BE INFORMATIVE. 2016 19 1077 45 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PSYCHOLOGIC FUNCTION AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER: A META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. OBJECTIVE: THE AIM OF THIS META-ANALYSIS WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PSYCHOLOGIC FUNCTION AND QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) IN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER. DESIGN: A SYSTEMATIC SEARCH OF PUBMED, EMBASE, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, THE CHINESE BIOMEDICAL LITERATURE DATABASE, AND THE CHINESE DIGITAL JOURNALS FULL-TEXT DATABASE WAS CARRIED OUT. RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS (RCTS) EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF YOGA, VERSUS A CONTROL GROUP RECEIVING NO INTERVENTION, ON PSYCHOLOGIC FUNCTIONING AND QOL IN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER WERE INCLUDED. METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY OF INCLUDED RCTS WAS ASSESSED ACCORDING TO THE COCHRANE HANDBOOK FOR SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS OF INTERVENTIONS 5.0.1, AND DATA WERE ANALYZED USING THE COCHRANE COLLABORATION'S REVIEW MANAGER 5.1. RESULTS: SIX (6) STUDIES INVOLVING 382 PATIENTS WERE INCLUDED. THE META-ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT YOGA CAN IMPROVE QOL FOR WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER. A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT EFFECT FAVORING YOGA FOR THE OUTCOME OF QOL WAS FOUND (STANDARD MEAN DIFFERENCE=0.27, 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [0.02, 0.52], P=0.03). ALTHOUGH THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PSYCHOLOGIC FUNCTION OUTCOMES--SUCH AS ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, DISTRESS AND SLEEP--WERE IN THE EXPECTED DIRECTION, THESE EFFECTS WERE NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT (P>0.05). FATIGUE SHOWED NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: THE PRESENT DATA PROVIDED LITTLE INDICATION OF HOW EFFECTIVE YOGA MIGHT BE WHEN THEY WERE APPLIED BY WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER EXCEPT FOR MILDLY EFFECTIVE IN QOL IMPROVEMENT. THE FINDINGS WERE BASED ON A SMALL BODY OF EVIDENCE IN WHICH METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY WAS NOT HIGH. FURTHER WELL-DESIGNED RCTS WITH LARGE SAMPLE SIZE ARE NEEDED TO CLARIFY THE UTILITY OF YOGA PRACTICE FOR THIS POPULATION. 2012 20 222 54 A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF YOGA FOR LOW BACK PAIN. OBJECTIVES: TO SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEW AND META-ANALYZE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA FOR LOW BACK PAIN. METHODS: MEDLINE, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, EMBASE, CAMBASE, AND PSYCINFO, WERE SCREENED THROUGH JANUARY 2012. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS COMPARING YOGA TO CONTROL CONDITIONS IN PATIENTS WITH LOW BACK PAIN WERE INCLUDED. TWO AUTHORS INDEPENDENTLY ASSESSED RISK OF BIAS USING THE RISK OF BIAS TOOL RECOMMENDED BY THE COCHRANE BACK REVIEW GROUP. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES WERE PAIN, BACK-SPECIFIC DISABILITY, GENERIC DISABILITY, HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE, AND GLOBAL IMPROVEMENT. FOR EACH OUTCOME, STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCES (SMD) AND 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CI) WERE CALCULATED. RESULTS: TEN RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS WITH A TOTAL OF 967 CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN PATIENTS WERE INCLUDED. EIGHT STUDIES HAD LOW RISK OF BIAS. THERE WAS STRONG EVIDENCE FOR SHORT-TERM EFFECTS ON PAIN (SMD=-0.48; 95% CI, -0.65 TO -0.31; P<0.01), BACK-SPECIFIC DISABILITY (SMD=-0.59; 95% CI, -0.87 TO -0.30; P<0.01), AND GLOBAL IMPROVEMENT (RISK RATIO=3.27; 95% CI, 1.89-5.66; P<0.01). THERE WAS STRONG EVIDENCE FOR A LONG-TERM EFFECT ON PAIN (SMD=-0.33; 95% CI, -0.59 TO -0.07; P=0.01) AND MODERATE EVIDENCE FOR A LONG-TERM EFFECT ON BACK-SPECIFIC DISABILITY (SMD=-0.35; 95% CI, -0.55 TO -0.15; P<0.01). THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE FOR EITHER SHORT-TERM OR LONG-TERM EFFECTS ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE. YOGA WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS. DISCUSSION: THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW FOUND STRONG EVIDENCE FOR SHORT-TERM EFFECTIVENESS AND MODERATE EVIDENCE FOR LONG-TERM EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN IN THE MOST IMPORTANT PATIENT-CENTERED OUTCOMES. YOGA CAN BE RECOMMENDED AS AN ADDITIONAL THERAPY TO CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN PATIENTS. 2013