1 2018 149 SYMPTOMS IMPROVE AFTER A YOGA PROGRAM DESIGNED FOR PTSD IN A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL WITH VETERANS AND CIVILIANS. OBJECTIVE: ALTHOUGH YOGA SHOWS PROMISE AS A TREATMENT FOR POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD), THERE ARE FEW RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS THAT DEMONSTRATE SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH PTSD. THE PRESENT STUDY ADDRESSES THIS NEED BY COMPARING THE EFFECTS OF A HOLISTIC YOGA PROGRAM (HYP) TO THAT OF A WELLNESS LIFESTYLE PROGRAM (WLP) ON PTSD SYMPTOM SEVERITY WITH A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL. METHOD: THE SAMPLE CONSISTED OF 209 PARTICIPANTS (91.4% VETERANS; 66% MALE; 61.7% WHITE) WHO MET DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA FOR PTSD AT BASELINE. PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO ATTEND ONE OF THE 2 WEEKLY INTERVENTIONS FOR 16 WEEKS. THE HYP CONSISTED OF YOGA INSTRUCTION, WHILE THE WLP CONSISTED OF DIDACTICS, DISCUSSIONS, AND WALKING. PTSD SEVERITY WAS MEASURED USING THE CLINICIAN ADMINISTERED PTSD SCALE (CAPS-5) AND THE PTSD CHECKLIST (PCL-5). RESULTS: ANALYSES REVEALED THAT THE HYP REDUCED PTSD SEVERITY MEASURED BY THE CAPS-5 SIGNIFICANTLY MORE THAN THE WLP AT TREATMENT END (MEAN DIFFERENCE = -5.4, EFFECT SIZE = 0.46, P < .001), BUT NOT AT 7-MONTH FOLLOW UP (MEAN DIFFERENCE = -0.9, P = .603). SIMILARLY, THE HYP REDUCED PTSD SEVERITY MEASURED BY THE PCL-5 SIGNIFICANTLY MORE THAN THE WLP AT TREATMENT END (DIFFERENCE = -6.0, P = .001), BUT NOT AT 7-MONTH FOLLOW UP (MEAN DIFFERENCE = -1.0, P = .682). CONCLUSION: YOGA MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION FOR PTSD IN ADDITION TO STANDARD TREATMENTS. FUTURE YOGA TRIALS SHOULD CONSIDER ADDING A SOCIAL COMPONENT TO INTERVENTIONS OR BOOSTER CLASSES TO MAINTAIN EFFECTS LONG TERM. (PSYCINFO DATABASE RECORD (C) 2020 APA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED). 2020 2 1830 43 PSYCHOLOGICAL FLEXIBILITY AND SET-SHIFTING AMONG VETERANS PARTICIPATING IN A YOGA PROGRAM: A PILOT STUDY. INTRODUCTION: TRAUMA-FOCUSED PSYCHOTHERAPIES DO NOT MEET THE NEEDS OF ALL VETERANS. YOGA SHOWS SOME POTENTIAL IN REDUCING STRESS AND PERHAPS EVEN PTSD IN VETERANS, ALTHOUGH LITTLE IS UNDERSTOOD ABOUT THE MECHANISMS OF ACTION. THIS STUDY IDENTIFIES PRELIMINARY CORRELATES OF CHANGE IN PTSD AND PERCEIVED STRESS FOR VETERANS PARTICIPATING IN YOGA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: NINE VETERANS (SEVEN MALES AND TWO FEMALES) WERE RECRUITED FROM AN EXISTING CLINICAL YOGA PROGRAM AND OBSERVED OVER 16 WK. SEVERITY OF PTSD SYMPTOMS (PCL-5) AND PERCEIVED STRESS (PSS-10) WERE COLLECTED AT BASELINE AND WEEKS 4, 6, 8, AND 16. PSYCHOLOGICAL FLEXIBILITY (AAQ-II) AND SET-SHIFTING (RATIO OF TRAIL MAKING TEST A TO B) WERE COLLECTED AT BASELINE AND AT WEEK 6. SUBJECTS ATTENDED YOGA SESSIONS FREELY, RANGING FROM 1 TO 23 CLASSES OVER THE 16 WEEKS. THE STANFORD UNIVERSITY INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD APPROVED THIS RESEARCH PROTOCOL. RESULTS: SELF-REPORTED PTSD SYMPTOMS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED WHILE PERCEIVED STRESS DID NOT. LOWER BASELINE SET-SHIFTING PREDICTED GREATER IMPROVEMENTS IN PTSD BETWEEN BASELINE AND 4 WEEKS; EARLY IMPROVEMENTS IN SET-SHIFTING PREDICTED OVERALL REDUCTION IN PTSD. GREATER PSYCHOLOGICAL FLEXIBILITY WAS ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER PTSD AND PERCEIVED STRESS; MORE YOGA PRACTICE, BEFORE AND DURING THE STUDY, WAS ASSOCIATED WITH GREATER PSYCHOLOGICAL FLEXIBILITY. OTHER PREDICTORS WERE NOT SUPPORTED. CONCLUSIONS: IN A SMALL UNCONTROLLED SAMPLE, PSYCHOLOGICAL FLEXIBILITY AND SET-SHIFTING PREDICTED CHANGES IN PTSD SYMPTOMS IN VETERANS PARTICIPATING IN A CLINICAL YOGA PROGRAM, WHICH SUPPORTS FINDINGS FROM PRIOR RESEARCH. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD INCLUDE AN ACTIVE COMPARISON GROUP AND RECORD FREQUENCY OF YOGA PRACTICED OUTSIDE FORMAL SESSIONS. 2018 3 2012 52 SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA PROGRAM IN POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER: A FEASIBILITY STUDY. BACKGROUND: SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY), A BREATH-BASED YOGA INTERVENTION, HAS DEMONSTRATED SAFETY AND EFFICACY IN POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) PATIENTS SUBSEQUENT TO NATURAL DISASTER OR WAR, BUT HAS NOT BEEN EXPLORED IN CIVILIANS WITH PTSD FROM A WIDER RANGE OF TRAUMA. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT IT WOULD BE FEASIBLE TO CONDUCT A CLINICAL TRIAL OF SKY IN PTSD RESULTING FROM A WIDE RANGE OF TRAUMA. METHODS: OUTCOMES WERE FEASIBILITY MEASURES INCLUDING RATES OF ENROLLMENT AND RETENTION, ADHERENCE TO STUDY PROTOCOL; AS WELL AS CHANGES IN PTSD SYMPTOMS, OTHER MOOD SYMPTOMS, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASURES. MALE AND FEMALE PARTICIPANTS AGED 18-75 YEARS WERE ENROLLED IN A FEASIBILITY TRIAL. THEY ATTENDED A 6-DAY LEARNING PHASE OF SKY FOLLOWED BY 7 SESSIONS OVER 11 WEEKS AS AN ADJUNCT TO THEIR USUAL TREATMENT. RESULTS: FORTY-SEVEN PARTICIPANTS WERE SCREENED AND 32 WERE ENROLLED OVER 9 MONTHS. CONSISTENT WITH RETENTION RATES OF OTHER PTSD TRIALS, 13 WITHDREW FROM THE STUDY PRIOR TO WEEK 12. TWENTY-ONE PARTICIPANTS MET INTERVENTION ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS, COMPLETED 95% OF PLANNED STUDY ASSESSMENTS AND WERE INCLUDED IN FINAL ANALYSES. PARTICIPANTS EXPERIENCED CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN PTSD SYMPTOMS ON THE POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER CHECKLIST (PCL-5) SCORES AT WEEK 12 MEAN DIFFERENCE, MDIFF (STANDARD DEVIATION [SD]) = -10.68 (14.03), P = 0.004; COHEN'S D = 0.58, WHICH WAS SUSTAINED AT WEEK 24 MDIFF (SD) = -16.11 (15.20), P < 0.001; COHEN'S D = 0.91. CONCLUSIONS: IT IS POSSIBLE TO CONDUCT A CLINICAL TRIAL OF SKY IN A ROUTINE PSYCHIATRY CLINIC SERVING PATIENTS WITH PTSD DUE TO A WIDE RANGE OF TRAUMA. FUTURE STUDIES SHOULD INCLUDE AN RCT DESIGN. 2020 4 246 35 A YOGA INTERVENTION FOR POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS: A PRELIMINARY RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL. YOGA MAY BE EFFECTIVE IN THE REDUCTION OF PTSD SYMPTOMOLOGY. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF A KUNDALINI YOGA (KY) TREATMENT ON PTSD SYMPTOMS AND OVERALL WELLBEING. TO SUPPLEMENT THE CURRENT FIELD OF INQUIRY, A PILOT RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL (RCT) WAS CONDUCTED COMPARING AN 8-SESSION KY INTERVENTION WITH A WAITLIST CONTROL GROUP. 80 INDIVIDUALS WITH CURRENT PTSD SYMPTOMS PARTICIPATED. BOTH GROUPS DEMONSTRATED CHANGES IN PTSD SYMPTOMOLOGY BUT YOGA PARTICIPANTS SHOWED GREATER CHANGES IN MEASURES OF SLEEP, POSITIVE AFFECT, PERCEIVED STRESS, ANXIETY, STRESS, AND RESILIENCE. BETWEEN-GROUPS EFFECT SIZES WERE SMALL TO MODERATE (0.09-0.25). KY MAY BE AN ADJUNCTIVE OR ALTERNATIVE INTERVENTION FOR PTSD. FINDINGS INDICATE THE NEED FOR FURTHER YOGA RESEARCH TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISM OF YOGA IN RELATION TO MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH, GENDER AND ETHNIC COMPARISONS, AND SHORT- AND LONG-TERM YOGA PRACTICE FOR PSYCHIATRIC CONDITIONS. 2015 5 1267 37 FOLLOW-UP OF YOGA OF AWARENESS FOR FIBROMYALGIA: RESULTS AT 3 MONTHS AND REPLICATION IN THE WAIT-LIST GROUP. OBJECTIVES: PUBLISHED PRELIMINARY FINDINGS FROM A RANDOMIZED-CONTROLLED TRIAL SUGGEST THAT AN 8-WEEK YOGA OF AWARENESS INTERVENTION MAY BE EFFECTIVE FOR IMPROVING SYMPTOMS, FUNCTIONAL DEFICITS, AND COPING ABILITIES IN FIBROMYALGIA. THE PRIMARY AIMS OF THIS STUDY WERE TO EVALUATE THE SAME INTERVENTION'S POSTTREATMENT EFFECTS IN A WAIT-LIST GROUP AND TO TEST THE INTERVENTION'S EFFECTS AT 3-MONTH FOLLOW-UP IN THE IMMEDIATE TREATMENT GROUP. METHODS: UNPAIRED T TESTS WERE USED TO COMPARE DATA FROM A PER PROTOCOL SAMPLE OF 21 WOMEN IN THE IMMEDIATE TREATMENT GROUP WHO HAD COMPLETED TREATMENT AND 18 WOMEN IN THE WAIT-LIST GROUP WHO HAD COMPLETED TREATMENT. WITHIN-GROUP PAIRED T TESTS WERE PERFORMED TO COMPARE POSTTREATMENT DATA WITH 3-MONTH FOLLOW-UP DATA IN THE IMMEDIATE TREATMENT GROUP. THE PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE WAS THE FIBROMYALGIA IMPACT QUESTIONNAIRE REVISED (FIQR). MULTILEVEL RANDOM-EFFECTS MODELS WERE ALSO USED TO EXAMINE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN YOGA PRACTICE RATES AND OUTCOMES. RESULTS: POSTTREATMENT RESULTS IN THE WAIT-LIST GROUP LARGELY MIRRORED RESULTS SEEN AT POSTTREATMENT IN THE IMMEDIATE TREATMENT GROUP, WITH THE FIQR TOTAL SCORE IMPROVING BY 31.9% ACROSS THE 2 GROUPS. FOLLOW-UP RESULTS SHOWED THAT PATIENTS SUSTAINED MOST OF THEIR POSTTREATMENT GAINS, WITH THE FIQR TOTAL SCORE REMAINING 21.9% IMPROVED AT 3 MONTHS. YOGA PRACTICE RATES WERE GOOD, AND MORE PRACTICE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH MORE BENEFIT FOR A VARIETY OF OUTCOMES. DISCUSSION: THESE FINDINGS INDICATE THAT THE BENEFITS OF YOGA OF AWARENESS IN FIBROMYALGIA ARE REPLICABLE AND CAN BE MAINTAINED. 2012 6 290 45 ADJUNCTIVE YOGA V. HEALTH EDUCATION FOR PERSISTENT MAJOR DEPRESSION: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE WHETHER HATHA YOGA IS AN EFFICACIOUS ADJUNCTIVE INTERVENTION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH CONTINUED DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS DESPITE ANTIDEPRESSANT TREATMENT. METHOD: WE CONDUCTED A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF WEEKLY YOGA CLASSES (N = 63) V. HEALTH EDUCATION CLASSES (HEALTHY LIVING WORKSHOP; HLW; N = 59) IN INDIVIDUALS WITH ELEVATED DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS AND ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATION USE. HLW SERVED AS AN ATTENTION-CONTROL GROUP. THE INTERVENTION PERIOD WAS 10 WEEKS, WITH FOLLOW-UP ASSESSMENTS 3 AND 6 MONTHS AFTERWARDS. THE PRIMARY OUTCOME WAS DEPRESSION SYMPTOM SEVERITY ASSESSED BY BLIND RATER AT 10 WEEKS. SECONDARY OUTCOMES INCLUDED DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS OVER THE ENTIRE INTERVENTION AND FOLLOW-UP PERIODS, SOCIAL AND ROLE FUNCTIONING, GENERAL HEALTH PERCEPTIONS, PAIN, AND PHYSICAL FUNCTIONING. RESULTS: AT 10 WEEKS, WE DID NOT FIND A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS IN DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS (B = -0.82, S.E. = 0.88, P = 0.36). HOWEVER, OVER THE ENTIRE INTERVENTION AND FOLLOW-UP PERIOD, WHEN CONTROLLING FOR BASELINE, YOGA PARTICIPANTS SHOWED LOWER LEVELS OF DEPRESSION THAN HLW PARTICIPANTS (B = -1.38, S.E. = 0.57, P = 0.02). AT 6-MONTH FOLLOW-UP, 51% OF YOGA PARTICIPANTS DEMONSTRATED A RESPONSE (50% REDUCTION IN DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS) COMPARED WITH 31% OF HLW PARTICIPANTS (ODDS RATIO = 2.31; P = 0.04). YOGA PARTICIPANTS SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER SOCIAL AND ROLE FUNCTIONING AND GENERAL HEALTH PERCEPTIONS OVER TIME. CONCLUSIONS: ALTHOUGH WE DID NOT SEE A DIFFERENCE IN DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS AT THE END OF THE INTERVENTION PERIOD, YOGA PARTICIPANTS SHOWED FEWER DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS OVER THE ENTIRE FOLLOW-UP PERIOD. BENEFITS OF YOGA MAY ACCUMULATE OVER TIME. 2017 7 2074 49 THE EFFECT OF A YOGA INTERVENTION ON ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE RISK IN VETERAN AND CIVILIAN WOMEN WITH POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER. BACKGROUND: INDIVIDUALS WITH POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) OFTEN EXHIBIT HIGH-RISK SUBSTANCE USE BEHAVIORS. COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES ARE INCREASINGLY USED FOR MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS, ALTHOUGH EVIDENCE IS SPARSE. OBJECTIVES: INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF A YOGA INTERVENTION ON ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE BEHAVIORS IN WOMEN WITH PTSD. SECONDARY OUTCOMES INCLUDE CHANGES IN PTSD SYMPTOM PERCEPTION AND MANAGEMENT AND INITIATION OF EVIDENCE-BASED THERAPIES. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THE CURRENT INVESTIGATION ANALYZED DATA FROM A PILOT RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL COMPARING A 12-SESSION YOGA INTERVENTION WITH AN ASSESSMENT CONTROL FOR WOMEN AGE 18 TO 65 YEARS WITH PTSD. THE ALCOHOL USE DISORDER IDENTIFICATION TEST (AUDIT) AND DRUG USE DISORDER IDENTIFICATION TEST (DUDIT) WERE ADMINISTERED AT BASELINE, AFTER THE INTERVENTION, AND A 1-MONTH FOLLOW-UP. LINEAR MIXED MODELS WERE USED TO TEST THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CHANGE IN AUDIT AND DUDIT SCORES OVER TIME. TREATMENT-SEEKING QUESTIONS WERE COMPARED BY USING FISHER EXACT TESTS. RESULTS: THE MEAN AUDIT AND DUDIT SCORES DECREASED IN THE YOGA GROUP; IN THE CONTROL GROUP, MEAN AUDIT SCORE INCREASED WHILE MEAN DUDIT SCORE REMAINED STABLE. IN THE LINEAR MIXED MODELS, THE CHANGE IN AUDIT AND DUDIT SCORES OVER TIME DID NOT DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY BY GROUP. MOST YOGA GROUP PARTICIPANTS REPORTED A REDUCTION IN SYMPTOMS AND IMPROVED SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT. ALL PARTICIPANTS EXPRESSED INTEREST IN PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR PTSD, ALTHOUGH ONLY TWO PARTICIPANTS, BOTH IN THE YOGA GROUP, INITIATED THERAPY. CONCLUSIONS: RESULTS FROM THIS PILOT STUDY SUGGEST THAT A SPECIALIZED YOGA THERAPY MAY PLAY A ROLE IN ATTENUATING THE SYMPTOMS OF PTSD, REDUCING RISK OF ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE, AND PROMOTING INTEREST IN EVIDENCE-BASED PSYCHOTHERAPY. FURTHER RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO CONFIRM AND EVALUATE THE STRENGTH OF THESE EFFECTS. 2014 8 1592 42 MEDITATION AND YOGA FOR POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER: A META-ANALYTIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) IS A CHRONIC AND DEBILITATING DISORDER THAT AFFECTS THE LIVES OF 7-8% OF ADULTS IN THE U.S. ALTHOUGH SEVERAL INTERVENTIONS DEMONSTRATE CLINICAL EFFECTIVENESS FOR TREATING PTSD, MANY PATIENTS CONTINUE TO HAVE RESIDUAL SYMPTOMS AND ASK FOR A VARIETY OF TREATMENT OPTIONS. COMPLEMENTARY HEALTH APPROACHES, SUCH AS MEDITATION AND YOGA, HOLD PROMISE FOR TREATING SYMPTOMS OF PTSD. THIS META-ANALYSIS EVALUATES THE EFFECT SIZE (ES) OF YOGA AND MEDITATION ON PTSD OUTCOMES IN ADULT PATIENTS. WE ALSO EXAMINED WHETHER THE INTERVENTION TYPE, PTSD OUTCOME MEASURE, STUDY POPULATION, SAMPLE SIZE, OR CONTROL CONDITION MODERATED THE EFFECTS OF COMPLEMENTARY APPROACHES ON PTSD OUTCOMES. THE STUDIES INCLUDED WERE 19 RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS WITH DATA ON 1173 PARTICIPANTS. A RANDOM EFFECTS MODEL YIELDED A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT ES IN THE SMALL TO MEDIUM RANGE (ES=-0.39, P<0.001, 95% CI [-0.57, -0.22]). THERE WERE NO APPRECIABLE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INTERVENTION TYPES, STUDY POPULATION, OUTCOME MEASURES, OR CONTROL CONDITION. THERE WAS, HOWEVER, A MARGINALLY SIGNIFICANT HIGHER ES FOR SAMPLE SIZE