1 413 161 BLOOD PRESSURE RESPONSE TO MEDITATION AND YOGA: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. OBJECTIVES: TO INTRODUCE RESEARCH THAT PRESENTS SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE REGARDING THE EFFECTS OF MANTRA AND MINDFULNESS MEDITATION TECHNIQUES AND YOGA ON DECREASING BLOOD PRESSURE (BP) IN PATIENTS WHO HAVE HYPERTENSION. METHODS: A LITERATURE SEARCH WAS PERFORMED TO IDENTIFY ALL STUDIES PUBLISHED BETWEEN 1946 AND 2014 FROM PERIODICALS INDEXED IN OVID MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PSYCINFO, KOREAMED, AND NDSL BY USING THE FOLLOWING KEYWORDS: "HYPERTENSION," "BLOOD PRESSURE," "PSYCHOTHERAPY," "RELAXATION THERAPY," "MEDITATION," "YOGA," AND "MIND-BODY THERAPY." THE COCHRANE'S RISK OF BIAS WAS APPLIED TO ASSESS THE INTERNAL VALIDITY OF THE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL STUDIES. THIRTEEN STUDIES WERE ANALYZED IN THIS META-ANALYSIS BY USING REVIEW MANAGER 5.3. RESULTS: AMONG 510 POSSIBLE STUDIES, 13 MET THE SELECTION CRITERIA. SEVEN EXAMINED MEDITATION, AND SIX EXAMINED YOGA. THE META-ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT MEDITATION AND YOGA APPEARED TO DECREASE BOTH SYSTOLIC AND DIASTOLIC BP, WHICH WERE WITHIN SIMILAR BASELINE RANGES, AND THE REDUCTION WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT; HOWEVER, SOME RESULTS SHOWED LITTLE DIFFERENCE. AFTER AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF THOSE RESULTS, BP RANGE AND PATIENT AGE WERE REVEALED AS THE FACTORS THAT AFFECTED THE DIFFERENT RESULTS IN SOME REPORTS. IN PARTICULAR, MEDITATION PLAYED A NOTICEABLE ROLE IN DECREASING THE BP OF SUBJECTS OLDER THAN 60 YEARS OF AGE, WHEREAS YOGA SEEMED TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE DECREASE OF SUBJECTS AGED LESS THAN 60 YEARS. CONCLUSIONS: WHILE ACKNOWLEDGING THE LIMITATIONS OF THIS RESEARCH DUE TO THE DIFFERENCES IN BP AND THE PARTICIPANTS' AGES, MEDITATION AND YOGA ARE DEMONSTRATED TO BE EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVES TO PHARMACOTHERAPY. GIVEN THAT BP DECREASED WITH THE USE OF MEDITATION AND YOGA, AND THIS EFFECT VARIED IN DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS, SCIENTIFICALLY MEASURED OUTCOMES INDICATE THAT THESE PRACTICES ARE SAFE ALTERNATIVES IN SOME CASES. 2017 2 1084 37 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON STRESS MANAGEMENT IN HEALTHY ADULTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. OBJECTIVE: THIS ARTICLE REPORTS A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON STRESS MANAGEMENT IN HEALTHY ADULTS. METHODS: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE SEARCH WAS PERFORMED TO IDENTIFY RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) AND CLINICAL CONTROLLED TRIALS (CCTS) THAT ASSESSED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON STRESS MANAGEMENT IN HEALTHY ADULTS. SELECTED STUDIES WERE CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THE TYPES OF INTERVENTION, DURATION, OUTCOME MEASURES, AND RESULTS. THEY WERE ALSO QUALITATIVELY ASSESSED BASED ON PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS. RESULTS: THE SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WAS BASED ON EIGHT RCTS AND CCTS THAT INDICATED A POSITIVE EFFECT OF YOGA IN REDUCING STRESS LEVELS OR STRESS SYMPTOMS. HOWEVER, MOST OF THE STUDIES HAD METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS IN THAT THE INTERVENTION DURATION WAS SHORT AND LIMITED FOLLOW-UP DATA WAS AVAILABLE. CONCLUSION: THIS REVIEW REVEALED POSITIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON STRESS REDUCTION IN HEALTHY ADULT POPULATIONS. HOWEVER, THE RESULT SHOULD BE INTERPRETED WITH CAUTION DUE TO THE SMALL NUMBER OF STUDIES AND THE ASSOCIATED METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS. FURTHER STUDIES TO ASCERTAIN YOGA'S LONG-TERM EFFECTS AND THE UNDERLYING BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS LEADING TO ITS STRESS REDUCTION EFFECT SHOULD BE CONDUCTED. 2011 3 2105 37 THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON MENSTRUAL DISORDERS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. OBJECTIVE: TO SUMMARIZE AND EVALUATE EVIDENCE FOR THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON MENSTRUAL DISORDERS. METHODS: PUBMED, CINAHL/MEDLINE, WEB OF SCIENCE, AMED, AND SCOPUS WERE SEARCHED FOR ENGLISH-LANGUAGE LITERATURE RELEVANT TO THE REVIEW QUESTION. ALL PRIMARY RESEARCH STUDIES WERE INCLUDED. RESULTS: FIFTEEN STUDIES DESCRIBED IN 18 PAPERS WERE INCLUDED IN THE REVIEW. A RANGE OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS WERE USED. SOME STUDIES USED A COMBINATION OF ASANA, PRANAYAMA, AND OTHER YOGIC RELAXATION OR MEDITATION TECHNIQUES. ALL INCLUDED STUDIES REPORTED SOME CHANGE IN THEIR OUTCOME MEASURES, SUGGESTING REDUCED SYMPTOMS OF MENSTRUAL DISTRESS FOLLOWING A YOGA INTERVENTION; HOWEVER, THE HETEROGENEITY AND INTENSITY OF THE INTERVENTIONS AND OUTCOME MEASURES MEANT THAT FINDINGS HAVE LIMITED GENERALIZABILITY AND APPLICABILITY IN PRACTICE SETTINGS. CONCLUSIONS: FURTHER RESEARCH ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOGA PRACTICE AND MENSTRUAL DISORDERS IS WARRANTED, BUT THERE MUST BE BOTH CONSISTENCY IN THE METHODS, MEASURES, AND QUALITY OF STUDIES AND A SHIFT TOWARD RESEARCH ON YOGA PRACTICES THAT ARE REPLICABLE OUTSIDE OF THE CLINICAL TRIAL SETTING. 2017 4 2742 49 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 5 2200 27 THE EFFICACY OF YOGA AS A FORM OF TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSION. THE PURPOSE OF THIS ARTICLE WAS TO SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEW YOGA INTERVENTIONS AIMED AT IMPROVING DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS. A TOTAL OF 23 INTERVENTIONS PUBLISHED BETWEEN 2011 AND MAY 2016 WERE EVALUATED IN THIS REVIEW. THREE STUDY DESIGNS WERE USED: RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS, QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL, AND PRETEST/POSTTEST, WITH MAJORITY BEING RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS. MOST OF THE STUDIES WERE IN THE UNITED STATES. VARIOUS YOGA SCHOOLS WERE USED, WITH THE MOST COMMON BEING HATHA YOGA. THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS PARTICIPATING IN THE STUDIES RANGED FROM 14 TO 136, IMPLYING THAT MOST STUDIES HAD A SMALL SAMPLE. THE DURATION OF THE INTERVENTION PERIOD VARIED GREATLY, WITH THE MAJORITY BEING 6 WEEKS OR LONGER. LIMITATIONS OF THE INTERVENTIONS INVOLVED THE SMALL SAMPLE SIZES USED BY THE MAJORITY OF THE STUDIES, MOST STUDIES EXAMINING THE SHORT-TERM EFFECT OF YOGA FOR DEPRESSION, AND THE NONUTILIZATION OF BEHAVIORAL THEORIES. DESPITE THE LIMITATIONS, IT CAN BE CONCLUDED THAT THE YOGA INTERVENTIONS WERE EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING DEPRESSION. 2017 6 2622 48 YOGA FOR SUBSTANCE USE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. INTRODUCTION: SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS (SUDS) ARE COMPLEX INTERACTIONS BETWEEN VARIOUS GENETIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, DEVELOPMENTAL, AND SOCIAL FACTORS. YOGA IS RECOMMENDED AS A NONMAINSTREAM TREATMENT FOR MANY HEALTH CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SUDS. METHODS: FIVE DATABASES WERE SEARCHED FOR RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) THAT EVALUATED YOGA AS AN INTERVENTION IN ADULTS WITH ANY TYPE OF SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER. THE INTERVENTIONS BEING STUDIED INCLUDED HATHA YOGA, SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA, BREATHING YOGA EXERCISES, AND MEDITATION. STUDIES, WHERE YOGA WAS COMBINED WITH OTHER INTERVENTIONS WERE EXCLUDED. THE EFFECT OF YOGA AS AN INTERVENTION WAS ANALYZED USING PRIMARY OUTCOMES SUCH AS ANXIETY, PAIN, AND CRAVING. EIGHT RCTS MET THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, AND QUALITY ANALYSIS WAS CONDUCTED USING THE COCHRANE CRITERIA. RESULTS: AMONG THE 8 FINAL STUDIES ELIGIBLE FOR QUALITY ANALYSIS, 2 HAD UNDEFINED SUBSTANCE USE, WHILE THE OTHERS WERE FOCUSED ON TOBACCO, ALCOHOL, OR OPIOIDS. SEVEN OUT OF 8 STUDIES SHOWED SIGNIFICANT RESULTS AND IMPROVED PRIMARY OUTCOMES SUCH AS ANXIETY, PAIN, OR SUBSTANCE USE. SEVEN OUT OF THE 8 STUDIES SHOWED SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE OUTCOMES USING YOGA IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT MODALITIES LIKE OPIOID SUBSTITUTION THERAPY. CONCLUSIONS: SIX OUT OF 8 STUDIES SHOWED LOW CONCERNS, WHILE 2 STUDIES SHOWED SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE RISK OF BIAS JUDGMENT. ALTHOUGH THE RESULTS LOOK ENCOURAGING, RCTS WITH LARGER SAMPLE SIZE ARE NEEDED TO BETTER EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA AS A TREATMENT MODALITY FOR SUBSTANCE USE. 2021 7 547 43 CONTENT, STRUCTURE, AND DELIVERY CHARACTERISTICS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR MANAGING HYPERTENSION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. OBJECTIVES: THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AIMED TO SYNTHESIZE THE CONTENT, STRUCTURE, AND DELIVERY CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE YOGA INTERVENTIONS USED FOR MANAGING HYPERTENSION AND TO COMPARE THESE CHARACTERISTICS WITH INEFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS. DESIGN AND METHOD: THE JBI AND THE PRISMA GUIDELINES WERE FOLLOWED IN THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. RCTS CONDUCTED AMONG HYPERTENSIVE ADULTS WERE INCLUDED. RCTS REPORTING AT LEAST ONE OF THE MAJOR COMPONENTS OF YOGA (I.E., ASANA, PRANAYAMA, AND DHYANA AND RELAXATION PRACTICES) AND COMPARING THEM WITH NO INTERVENTION OR ANY INTERVENTION WERE ELIGIBLE. SIXTEEN DATABASES WERE SEARCHED FOR PUBLISHED AND UNPUBLISHED STUDIES WITHOUT ANY DATE AND LANGUAGE RESTRICTIONS TILL MARCH 15, 2021. RESULTS: THE LITERATURE SEARCH YIELDED 13,130 RECORDS. 34 RCTS (EVALUATING 38 YOGA INTERVENTIONS) MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA. OVERALL, INCLUDED STUDIES HAD LOW METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY MOSTLY DUE TO INADEQUATE REPORTING. YOGA REDUCED SBP AND DBP COMPARED TO A CONTROL INTERVENTION (MD -6.49 AND -2.78; 95CI% -8.94- -4.04 AND -4.11- -1.45, RESPECTIVELY). EIGHTEEN, 14 AND 20 INTERVENTIONS WERE EFFECTIVE IN IMPROVING SBP, DBP, OR EITHER, RESPECTIVELY. 13 OUT OF 20 EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS INCORPORATED ALL THE 3 MAJOR COMPONENTS OF YOGA AND ALLOCATED SIMILAR DURATIONS TO EACH COMPONENT WHEREAS INEFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS WERE MORE FOCUSED ON THE ASANA AND DURATION OF ASANA PRACTICE WAS LONGER. THE MOST COMMON DURATION AND FREQUENCY OF EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS WERE 45 MIN/SESSION (IN 5 INTERVENTIONS), 7 DAYS/WEEK (IN 5 INTERVENTIONS), AND 12 WEEKS (IN 11 INTERVENTIONS) WHEREAS THE MOST COMMON SESSION FREQUENCY WAS 2 DAYS A WEEK (IN 7 INTERVENTIONS) IN INEFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS. EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS WERE MOSTLY CENTER-BASED (IN 15 INTERVENTIONS) AND SUPERVISED (IN 16 INTERVENTIONS) AND THIS WAS SIMILAR WITH INEFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS. CONCLUSION: DESPITE THE LOW QUALITY AND HETEROGENEITY OF INCLUDED STUDIES, OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST YOGA INTERVENTIONS MAY EFFECTIVELY MANAGE HYPERTENSION. THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE EFFECTIVE AND INEFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS SUGGEST THAT EFFECTIVE YOGA INTERVENTIONS MOSTLY INCORPORATED ASANA, PRANAYAMA, AND DHYANA AND RELAXATION PRACTICES AND THEY HAD A BALANCE BETWEEN THESE THREE COMPONENTS AND INCLUDED REGULAR PRACTICE. THEY WERE MOSTLY DELIVERED IN A CENTER AND UNDER SUPERVISION. FUTURE STUDIES SHOULD CONSIDER DEVELOPING AND EVALUATING AN INTERVENTION FOR MANAGING HYPERTENSION USING THE SYNTHESIZED FINDINGS OF THE EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS IN THIS REVIEW. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: [PROSPERO], IDENTIFIER [CRD42019139404]. 2022 8 522 37 COMPARISON GROUPS IN YOGA RESEARCH: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND CRITICAL EVALUATION OF THE LITERATURE. OBJECTIVES: COMPARISON GROUPS ARE ESSENTIAL FOR ACCURATE TESTING AND INTERPRETATION OF YOGA INTERVENTION TRIALS. HOWEVER, SELECTING PROPER COMPARISON GROUPS IS DIFFICULT BECAUSE YOGA COMPRISES A VERY HETEROGENEOUS SET OF PRACTICES AND ITS MECHANISMS OF EFFECT HAVE NOT BEEN CONCLUSIVELY ESTABLISHED. METHODS: WE CONDUCTED A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE CONTROL AND COMPARISON GROUPS USED IN PUBLISHED RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) OF YOGA. RESULTS: WE LOCATED 128 RCTS THAT MET OUR INCLUSION CRITERIA; OF THESE, 65 INCLUDED ONLY A PASSIVE CONTROL AND 63 INCLUDED AT LEAST ONE ACTIVE COMPARISON GROUP. PRIMARY COMPARISON GROUPS WERE PHYSICAL EXERCISE (43%), RELAXATION/MEDITATION (20%), AND EDUCATION (16%). STUDIES RARELY PROVIDED A STRONG RATIONALE FOR CHOICE OF COMPARISON. CONSIDERING YEAR OF PUBLICATION, THE USE OF ACTIVE CONTROLS IN YOGA RESEARCH APPEARS TO BE SLOWLY INCREASING OVER TIME. CONCLUSIONS: GIVEN THAT YOGA HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED AS A POTENTIALLY POWERFUL INTERVENTION, FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD USE ACTIVE CONTROL GROUPS. FURTHER, CARE IS NEEDED TO SELECT COMPARISON CONDITIONS THAT HELP TO ISOLATE THE SPECIFIC MECHANISMS OF YOGA'S EFFECTS. 2014 9 1124 37 EFFICACY OF PRENATAL YOGA IN THE TREATMENT OF DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY DURING PREGNANCY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. WOMEN COMMONLY SUFFER FROM DEPRESSION DURING PREGNANCY. FOR REDUCING DEPRESSION, YOGA SEEMS TO BE MORE SUITABLE FOR PREGNANT WOMEN THAN OTHER PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES BECAUSE OF ITS LOW EXERCISE INTENSITY. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE EFFICACY OF PRENATAL YOGA ON THE TREATMENT OF DEPRESSION DURING PREGNANCY. THREE ELECTRONIC DATABASES WERE SEARCHED FOR RELEVANT ARTICLES FROM THEIR INCEPTION TO MAY 2021, INCLUDING PUBMED, COCHRANE LIBRARY, AND SCIENCEDIRECT. PRE- AND POST-TEST OUTCOMES WERE ADOPTED TO ESTIMATE STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE WITH A 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL FOR ASSESSING THE EFFICACY OF YOGA. HETEROGENEITY AMONG ARTICLES WAS DETECTED USING I(2) VALUE. A TOTAL OF 13 ARTICLES THAT CONTAINED 379 SUBJECTS WERE INCLUDED FOR META-ANALYSIS. NO SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN DEPRESSION SCORES AFTER PRACTICING YOGA WAS OBSERVED FOR WOMEN WITHOUT DEPRESSION (P = 0.09) BUT SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT WAS OBSERVED FOR WOMEN WITH DEPRESSION (P = 0.001). ALTHOUGH SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN ANXIETY SCORES AFTER YOGA WAS OBSERVED FOR WOMEN WITHOUT DEPRESSION (P = 0.02), THE RESULTS OF THE SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS WERE NOT CONSISTENT, WHILE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN ANXIETY SCORES AFTER YOGA WAS ALSO OBSERVED FOR WOMEN WITH DEPRESSION (P < 0.00001). THE CURRENT EVIDENCE HAS SUGGESTED THAT YOGA HAD SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY SCORES IN PREGNANT WOMEN WITH DEPRESSION. HOWEVER, THE LEVEL OF EVIDENCE OF THIS STUDY WAS NOT HIGH. MORE ARTICLES WITH HIGH LEVELS OF EVIDENCE SHOULD BE CONDUCTED TO CONFIRM OUR CONCLUSION IN THE FUTURE. 2022 10 1083 45 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON STRESS AMONG HEALTHY ADULTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. BACKGROUND: YOGA WAS RECOMMENDED IN BOTH CLINICAL AND NONCLINICAL POPULATIONS AS THERAPY METHODS. THE DIVERSITY OF YOGA PRACTICE AS A THERAPY METHOD HAS RARELY BEEN DISCUSSED AND IT IS ESSENTIAL TO ADDRESS THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON STRESS. PRIMARY STUDY OBJECTIVE: THIS ARTICLE AIMS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF YOGA ON STRESS IN HEALTHY POPULATION. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE AUTHORS INTENDED TO FIGURE OUT YOGA EFFECTS ON STRESS SYSTEMATICALLY. METHODS/DESIGN: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW WAS CONDUCTED TO IDENTIFY ARTICLES THAT ASSESS THE EFFECT OF YOGA AND YOGA-RELATED INTERVENTIONS ON STRESS REDUCTION IN NONCLINICAL POPULATIONS. STUDIES WERE CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THE LENGTH OF THE INTERVENTION, YOGA TYPE, AND MEASURES OF OUTCOME. THE STUDIES WERE SELECTED THROUGHOUT LAST 5 YEARS (JANUARY 2014 TO NOVEMBER 2018) BY USING THE KEY SEARCHING TERM YOGA AND STRESS INCORPORATION WITH TENSION AND PRESSURE. THE SELECTION PROCESS FOLLOWED THE PRISMA FLOW DIAGRAM. RESULTS: TOTALLY, 12 ARTICLES ELABORATING ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA OR YOGA-RELATED INTERVENTIONS ON STRESS MANAGEMENT AND REMISSION WERE INCLUDED IN THE REVIEW. THIS REVIEW INCLUDED VARIOUS TYPES OF YOGA PRACTICE (E.G., HATHA YOGA, BIKRAM YOGA, KUNDALINI YOGA, SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA, KRIPALU YOGA, YIN YOGA). A TIME SPECTRUM WAS CONDUCTED FROM 4 WKS TO 28 WKS. THIS REVIEW REVEALED THAT MOST TYPES OF YOGA HAVE POSITIVE EFFECTS ON STRESS REDUCTION IN HEATHY POPULATIONS. CONCLUSION: FURTHER STUDIES ARE RECOMMENDED TO EXAMINE THE LONG-TERM EFFECT OF YOGA AND UNDERLYING PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS CAUSING STRESS AND MENTAL RESTRAIN. IN ADDITION, IT IS SUGGESTED TO CONSIDER AGE AS A RISK FACTOR AFFECTING THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON STRESS. 2020 11 2181 50 THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PHYSICAL FUNCTIONING AND HEALTH RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN OLDER ADULTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. OBJECTIVE: THE GOAL WAS TO REVIEW SYSTEMATICALLY THE COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA, COMPARED WITH OTHER EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS, FOR OLDER ADULTS AS SHOWN ON MEASURES OF HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FUNCTIONING. DESIGN: THIS WAS A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WITH BOTH NARRATIVE SYNTHESIS AND META-ANALYSIS. DATA SOURCES: SEARCHES WERE CONDUCTED IN MEDLINE(R)/PUBMED, PSYCINFO, CINAHL, WEB OF SCIENCE, AND SCOPUS; BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF SELECTED ARTICLES; AND ONE SYSTEMATIC REVIEW ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. METHODS: ORIGINAL STUDIES FROM 1950 TO NOVEMBER 2010 WERE SOUGHT, EVALUATING THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON OLDER ADULTS. THE SEARCH WAS RESTRICTED TO RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS OF YOGA IN SUBJECTS >/=AGE 60, AND PUBLISHED IN ENGLISH. DATA WERE EXTRACTED AND EVALUATED REGARDING SETTING, POPULATION SIZE AND CHARACTERISTICS, INTERVENTION TYPE AND DURATION, COMPARISON GROUP, OUTCOME ASSESSMENT, DATA ANALYSIS, FOLLOW-UP, KEY RESULTS, AND THE QUALITY OF EACH STUDY ACCORDING TO SPECIFIC PREDETERMINED CRITERIA. RESULTS: THE SEARCH YIELDED 18 ELIGIBLE STUDIES (N=649). THE STUDIES REPORTED ON OLDER ADULTS ACROSS A RANGE OF SETTINGS, INTERVENTION INTENSITY, AND OUTCOME MEASURES. THE MAJORITY OF THE STUDIES HAD<35 PARTICIPANTS (RANGE 9-77). QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE SYNTHESIS OF THE STUDIES SUGGESTED THAT THE BENEFITS OF YOGA MAY EXCEED THOSE OF CONVENTIONAL EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS FOR SELF-RATED HEALTH STATUS, AEROBIC FITNESS, AND STRENGTH. HOWEVER, THE EFFECT SIZES WERE MODEST, AND THE EVIDENCE WAS MIXED FOR YOGA'S EFFECT ON DEPRESSION, SLEEP, AND BONE-MINERAL DENSITY. STUDIES DID NOT FIND AN EFFECT ON COGNITION. CONCLUSIONS: SMALL STUDIES WITH MIXED METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY SUGGESTED THAT YOGA MAY BE SUPERIOR TO CONVENTIONAL PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY INTERVENTIONS IN ELDERLY PEOPLE. THE PRECISION OF THE ESTIMATES REMAINS LOW. LARGER STUDIES ARE NECESSARY TO DEFINE BETTER THE INTERSECTION OF POPULATIONS, SETTINGS, AND INTERVENTIONS IN WHICH YOGA IS MOST BENEFICIAL. 2012 12 227 41 A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE EFFECT OF LAUGHTER YOGA ON PHYSICAL FUNCTION AND PSYCHOSOCIAL OUTCOMES IN OLDER ADULTS. BACKGROUND: LAUGHTER YOGA IS ONE OF THE INCREASINGLY USED METHODS AMONG COMPLEMENTARY HEALTH APPROACHES IN THE WORLD. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LAUGHTER YOGA ON PHYSICAL FUNCTION AND PSYCHOSOCIAL OUTCOMES IN OLDER ADULTS. METHODS: IN THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW, ELECTRONIC SEARCHES WERE PERFORMED IN CINAHL, WEB OF SCIENCE, COCHRANE, SCOPUS, PROQUEST DATABASES FROM MAY 2010 TO MAY 2020. THE SCREENING PROCESS WAS CONDUCTED BY TWO AUTHORS INDEPENDENTLY AND FINALLY AGREED TOGETHER. THE REVIEW WAS REPORTED ACCORDING TO PRISMA GUIDELINE. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 3210 STUDIES WERE EXAMINED, AND SEVEN PUBLICATIONS (SIX QUASI EXPERIMENTAL AND ONE RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL), IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE INCLUSION CRITERIA WERE INCLUDED IN THE STUDY AND EVALUATED. THE RESULTS INDICATED THAT SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WERE FOUND IN THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LAUGHTER YOGA ON PHYSICAL FUNCTION (BLOOD PRESSURE, CORTISOL LEVEL, SLEEP QUALITY) AND PSYCHOSOCIAL HEALTH (LIFE SATISFACTION, QUALITY OF LIFE, LONELINESS, DEATH ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, MOOD, HAPPINESS) IN OLDER ADULTS. CONCLUSION: LAUGHTER YOGA IS A COST-EFFECTIVE AND NO ADVERSE EFFECT IN OLDER ADULTS. IT CAN BE USED FOR HEALTH PROMOTION FOR OLDER ADULTS. 2020 13 2409 36 YOGA AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE. HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) HAS BEEN USED AS A PROXY FOR HEALTH AND FITNESS AND INDICATOR OF AUTONOMIC REGULATION AND THEREFORE, APPEARS WELL PLACED TO ASSESS THE CHANGES OCCURRING WITH MIND.-BODY PRACTICES THAT FACILITATE AUTONOMIC BALANCE. WHILE MANY STUDIES SUGGEST THAT YOGA INFLUENCES HRV, SUCH STUDIES HAVE NOT BEEN SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEWED. WE AIMED TO SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEW ALL PUBLISHED PAPERS THAT REPORT ON YOGA PRACTICES AND HRV. A COMPREHENSIVE SEARCH OF MULTIPLE DATABASES WAS CONDUCTED AND ALL STUDIES THAT REPORTED A MEASURE OF HRV ASSOCIATED WITH ANY YOGA PRACTICE WERE INCLUDED. STUDIES WERE CATEGORIZED BY THE STUDY DESIGN AND TYPE OF YOGA PRACTICE. A TOTAL OF 59 STUDIES WERE REVIEWED INVOLVING A TOTAL OF 2358 PARTICIPANTS. MOST STUDIES WERE PERFORMED IN INDIA ON RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBERS OF HEALTHY MALE YOGA PRACTITIONERS DURING A SINGLE LABORATORY SESSION. OF THE REVIEWED STUDIES, 15 WERE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS WITH 6 HAVING A JADAD SCORE OF 3. THE REVIEWED STUDIES SUGGEST THAT YOGA CAN AFFECT CARDIAC AUTONOMIC REGULATION WITH INCREASED HRV AND VAGAL DOMINANCE DURING YOGA PRACTICES. REGULAR YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE ALSO FOUND TO HAVE INCREASED VAGAL TONE AT REST COMPARED TO NON-YOGA PRACTITIONERS. IT IS PREMATURE TO DRAW ANY FIRM CONCLUSIONS ABOUT YOGA AND HRV AS MOST STUDIES WERE OF POOR QUALITY, WITH SMALL SAMPLE SIZES AND INSUFFICIENT REPORTING OF STUDY DESIGN AND STATISTICAL METHODS. RIGOROUS STUDIES WITH DETAILED REPORTING OF YOGA PRACTICES AND ANY CORRESPONDING CHANGES IN RESPIRATION ARE REQUIRED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON HRV. 2016 14 2196 41 THE EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF YOGA IN MANAGING HYPERTENSION. HYPERTENSION IS A MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CAUSES OF PREMATURE MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY. YOGA IS A TRADITIONAL INDIAN PRACTICE THAT HAS BEEN ADAPTED FOR USE IN COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE AND MAINLY INCLUDES PHYSICAL POSTURES, BREATHING TECHNIQUES, AND MEDITATION. THE IMPACT OF YOGA AS A COMPLEMENTARY INTERVENTION FOR HYPERTENSION HAS BEEN INVESTIGATED IN A NUMBER OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS; WITH AN OVERALL EFFECT OF ABOUT 10 MMHG REDUCTION IN SYSTOLIC AND ABOUT 8 MMHG REDUCTION IN DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE. YOGA SEEMS TO BE EFFECTIVE ONLY FOR HYPERTENSION BUT NOT FOR PREHYPERTENSION; AND ONLY AS AN ADJUNCT TO ANTIHYPERTENSIVE PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT BUT NOT AS AN ALTERNATIVE THERAPY. BREATHING AND MEDITATION RATHER THAN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY SEEM TO BE THE ACTIVE PART OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS. THESE PRACTICES CAN INCREASE PARASYMPATHIC ACTIVITY AND DECREASE SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITY, ARGUABLY MAINLY BY INCREASING GABA ACTIVITY; THUS COUNTERACTING EXCESS ACTIVITY OF THE SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM WHICH HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH HYPERTENSION. ALTHOUGH YOGA HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS IN SINGLE CASE REPORTS, POPULATION-BASED SURVEYS AS WELL AS CLINICAL TRIALS INDICATE THAT YOGA IS A RELATIVELY SAFE INTERVENTION THAT IS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH MORE ADVERSE EVENTS THAN OTHER FORMS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. YOGA CAN THUS BE CONSIDERED A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION FOR MANAGING HYPERTENSION. GIVEN THE POSSIBLY BETTER RISK/BENEFIT RATIO, IT MAY BE ADVISABLE TO FOCUS ON YOGIC MEDITATION AND/OR BREATHING TECHNIQUES. 2016 15 559 56 COULD YOGA PRACTICE IMPROVE TREATMENT-RELATED SIDE EFFECTS AND QUALITY OF LIFE FOR WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER? A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. AIM: TO DETERMINE IF YOGA AS A COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE THERAPY WAS ASSOCIATED WITH ENHANCED HEALTH AND TREATMENT-RELATED SIDE EFFECTS IN PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER. THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW EXAMINES WHETHER YOGA PRACTICE PROVIDES ANY MEASURABLE BENEFIT, BOTH PHYSICALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY, FOR WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER. METHODS: PUBMED, EMBASE AND THE COCHRANE LIBRARY FOR RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) THROUGHOUT JUNE 2013. WE EVALUATED THE QUALITY OF THE INCLUDED STUDIES BY THE COCHRANE HANDBOOK 5.2 STANDARDS AND ANALYZED THE DATA USING THE STATA SOFTWARE, VERSION 10.0. META-REGRESSION AND SUBGROUP ANALYSIS WERE ALSO PERFORMED TO IDENTIFY ADDITIONAL PREDICTORS OF OUTCOME AND TO ASSESS HETEROGENEITY. RESULTS: SIXTEEN RCTS WITH A TOTAL OF 930 PARTICIPANTS WERE INCLUDED. COMPARING YOGA GROUPS TO CONTROL GROUPS, THERE WAS A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN OVERALL HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE, DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND GASTROINTESTINAL SYMPTOMS. META-REGRESSION ANALYSES REVEALED THAT THE DURATION OF YOGA PRACTICE AND TYPE OF CONTROL GROUP PARTLY EXPLAINED THE HETEROGENEITY. SUBGROUP ANALYSES REVEALED THAT YOGA HAD A POSITIVE EFFECT ON ANXIETY ONLY WHEN IT HAD BEEN PRACTICED FOR LONGER THAN 3 MONTHS. ONLY THE WAIT-LIST CONTROL GROUP SHOWED AN EFFECT OF YOGA ON PHYSICAL WELL-BEING. CONCLUSION: THE CURRENT EVIDENCE DEMONSTRATES THAT YOGA PRACTICE COULD BE EFFECTIVE IN ENHANCING HEALTH AND MANAGING SOME TREATMENT-RELATED SIDE EFFECTS FOR PATIENTS RECOVERING FROM BREAST CANCER. IN FUTURE CLINICAL STUDIES, CLINICIANS SHOULD CONSIDER THE PATIENT'S WISHES ALONG WITH THE CURRENT BEST EVIDENCE OF THE EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE IN THEIR CLINICAL DECISION-MAKING. 2017 16 2210 44 THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF YOGA AND EXERCISE: A REVIEW OF COMPARISON STUDIES. OBJECTIVES: EXERCISE IS CONSIDERED AN ACCEPTABLE METHOD FOR IMPROVING AND MAINTAINING PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH. A GROWING BODY OF EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THE BELIEF THAT YOGA BENEFITS PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH VIA DOWN-REGULATION OF THE HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL (HPA) AXIS AND THE SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM (SNS). THE PURPOSE OF THIS ARTICLE IS TO PROVIDE A SCHOLARLY REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE REGARDING RESEARCH STUDIES COMPARING THE EFFECTS OF YOGA AND EXERCISE ON A VARIETY OF HEALTH OUTCOMES AND HEALTH CONDITIONS. METHODS: USING PUBMED((R)) AND THE KEY WORD "YOGA," A COMPREHENSIVE SEARCH OF THE RESEARCH LITERATURE FROM CORE SCIENTIFIC AND NURSING JOURNALS YIELDED 81 STUDIES THAT MET INCLUSION CRITERIA. THESE STUDIES SUBSEQUENTLY WERE CLASSIFIED AS UNCONTROLLED (N = 30), WAIT LIST CONTROLLED (N = 16), OR COMPARISON (N = 35). THE MOST COMMON COMPARISON INTERVENTION (N = 10) INVOLVED EXERCISE. THESE STUDIES WERE INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW. RESULTS: IN THE STUDIES REVIEWED, YOGA INTERVENTIONS APPEARED TO BE EQUAL OR SUPERIOR TO EXERCISE IN NEARLY EVERY OUTCOME MEASURED EXCEPT THOSE INVOLVING PHYSICAL FITNESS. CONCLUSIONS: THE STUDIES COMPARING THE EFFECTS OF YOGA AND EXERCISE SEEM TO INDICATE THAT, IN BOTH HEALTHY AND DISEASED POPULATIONS, YOGA MAY BE AS EFFECTIVE AS OR BETTER THAN EXERCISE AT IMPROVING A VARIETY OF HEALTH-RELATED OUTCOME MEASURES. FUTURE CLINICAL TRIALS ARE NEEDED TO EXAMINE THE DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN EXERCISE AND YOGA, PARTICULARLY HOW THE TWO MODALITIES MAY DIFFER IN THEIR EFFECTS ON THE SNS/HPA AXIS. ADDITIONAL STUDIES USING RIGOROUS METHODOLOGIES ARE NEEDED TO EXAMINE THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF THE VARIOUS TYPES OF YOGA. 2010 17 2915 44 [SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF YOGA FOR DEPRESSION AND QUALITY OF SLEEP IN THE ELDERLY]. BACKGROUND: AGING AND AGE-RELATED HEALTH PROBLEMS ARE MAJOR ISSUES OF CONCERN FOR COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES. YOGA IS AN EXERCISE WITH BOTH PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS ON AGING. ALTHOUGH MANY STUDIES HAVE ASSESSED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA IN THE ELDERLY, LITTLE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE IN THE LITERATURE TO SUPPORT EMPIRICAL CONCLUSIONS. PURPOSE: THIS REVIEW SYNTHESIZES AND CHARACTERIZES FINDINGS RELATED TO THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON DEPRESSION AND QUALITY OF SLEEP IN THE ELDERLY. METHODS: RESEARCHERS USED KEYWORDS INCLUDING YOGA, ELDERLY, AGED / OLDER ADULT, DEPRESSION, SLEEP, AND QUALITY TO SEARCH 6 ELECTRONIC DATABASES FOR RELEVANT STUDIES PUBLISHED PRIOR TO MARCH 2013. INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA WERE USED TO SCREEN IDENTIFIED STUDY ABSTRACTS. THE JADAD SCALE APPRAISED THE QUALITY OF IDENTIFIED STUDIES. RESULTS: SEVEN STUDIES MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA. FIVE STUDIES FOUND SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN PARTICIPANT DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS AFTER DOING YOGA. THREE STUDIES FOUND SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS ON THE QUALITY OF SLEEP OF PARTICIPANTS AFTER 6 MONTHS OF DOING YOGA. CONCLUSION: YOGA SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED THE DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS OF ELDERLY PARTICIPANTS AND IMPROVED THEIR QUALITY OF SLEEP AFTER 6 MONTHS. FINDINGS WERE SIMILAR FOR ELDERLY LIVING IN INSTITUTIONS AND IN THE COMMUNITY. HOWEVER, THE MAJORITY OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE ASSESSED STUDIES WERE WOMEN CHARACTERIZED BY A HIGH LEVEL OF SOCIAL PARTICIPATION AND PROACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN HEALTH PROMOTION ACTIVITIES. FUTURE STUDIES SHOULD BROADEN THE SCOPE OF RESEARCH TO ADDRESS DIFFERENT AGING POPULATIONS AND USE LONG-TERM COHORT OBSERVATIONS IN ORDER TO BETTER ELICIT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA AND TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO INTRODUCE YOGA INTO DAILY ACTIVITIES. 2014 18 340 46 ARE THERE BENEFITS FROM TEACHING YOGA AT SCHOOLS? A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS. INTRODUCTION. YOGA IS A HOLISTIC SYSTEM OF VARIED MIND-BODY PRACTICES THAT CAN BE USED TO IMPROVE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH AND IT HAS BEEN UTILIZED IN A VARIETY OF CONTEXTS AND SITUATIONS. EDUCATORS AND SCHOOLS ARE LOOKING TO INCLUDE YOGA AS A COST-EFFECTIVE, EVIDENCE-BASED COMPONENT OF URGENTLY NEEDED WELLNESS PROGRAMS FOR THEIR STUDENTS. OBJECTIVES. THE PRIMARY GOAL OF THIS STUDY WAS TO SYSTEMATICALLY EXAMINE THE AVAILABLE LITERATURE FOR YOGA INTERVENTIONS EXCLUSIVELY IN SCHOOL SETTINGS, EXPLORING THE EVIDENCE OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS ON ACADEMIC, COGNITIVE, AND PSYCHOSOCIAL BENEFITS. METHODS. AN EXTENSIVE SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED FOR STUDIES PUBLISHED BETWEEN 1980 AND OCTOBER 31, 2014 (PUBMED, PSYCINFO, EMBASE, ISI, AND THE COCHRANE LIBRARY). EFFECT SIZE ANALYSIS, THROUGH STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE AND HEDGES'G, ALLOWED FOR THE COMPARISON BETWEEN EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS. NINE RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS MET CRITERIA FOR INCLUSION IN THIS REVIEW. EFFECT SIZE WAS FOUND FOR MOOD INDICATORS, TENSION AND ANXIETY IN THE POMS SCALE, SELF-ESTEEM, AND MEMORY WHEN THE YOGA GROUPS WERE COMPARED TO CONTROL. FUTURE RESEARCH REQUIRES GREATER STANDARDIZATION AND SUITABILITY OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR CHILDREN. 2015 19 2573 44 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 20 2689 46 YOGA IN THE WORKPLACE AND HEALTH OUTCOMES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. BACKGROUND: HEALTH PROMOTION IN THE WORKPLACE IS INTENDED TO ENHANCE EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING. YOGA PROGRAMMES ARE EASY TO IMPLEMENT AND HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF VARIOUS HEALTH CONDITIONS. AIMS: TO ASSESS THE EVIDENCE REGARDING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA PROGRAMMES AT WORK. METHODS: A SEARCH OF ELECTRONIC DATABASES OF PUBLISHED STUDIES UP UNTIL THE 1ST OF APRIL 2017. INCLUSION CRITERIA FOR THE SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WERE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS OF ADULT EMPLOYEES AND YOGA IN THE WORKPLACE. QUALITY APPRAISAL WAS CARRIED OUT USING THE COCHRANE COLLABORATION'S TOOL FOR ASSESSING RISK OF BIAS IN RANDOMIZED TRIALS. RESULTS: OF 1343 PAPERS IDENTIFIED, 13 STUDIES MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA. NINE OUT OF 13 TRIALS WERE CLASSIFIED AS HAVING AN UNCLEAR RISK OF BIAS. THE OVERALL EFFECTS OF YOGA ON MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES WERE BENEFICIAL, MAINLY ON STRESS. MOST OF THE CARDIOVASCULAR ENDPOINTS SHOWED NO DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOGA AND CONTROLS. OTHER OUTCOMES REPORTED POSITIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA OR NO CHANGE. CONCLUSIONS: THE FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY SUGGEST THAT YOGA HAS A POSITIVE EFFECT ON HEALTH IN THE WORKPLACE, PARTICULARLY IN REDUCING STRESS, AND NO NEGATIVE EFFECTS WERE REPORTED IN ANY OF THE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. FURTHER LARGER STUDIES ARE REQUIRED TO CONFIRM THIS. 2019