1 2154 162 THE EFFECTS OF THAI YOGA ON PHYSICAL FITNESS: A META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS. OBJECTIVES: THAI YOGA IS A TRADITIONAL THAI EXERCISE USED FOR IMPROVING HEALTH-RELATED PHYSICAL FITNESS. MANY STUDIES HAVE EVALUATED THESE EFFECTS, BUT THEIR RESULTS REMAIN INCONCLUSIVE. THIS META-ANALYSIS AIMED TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THAI YOGA ON PHYSICAL FITNESS. DESIGN/METHODS: PUBMED, EMBASE, CINAHL, COCHRANE LIBRARY, THAI LIBRARY INTEGRATED SYSTEM (THAILIS), PHYSIOTHERAPY EVIDENCE DATABASE (PEDRO), NATIONAL REHABILITATION INFORMATION CENTER (REHABDATA), SCOPUS, WEB OF SCIENCE, THAI UNIVERSITY LIBRARY DATABASES/JOURNALS, AND THAI PHYSICAL THERAPY DATABASE UP TO MARCH 2016 WERE SEARCHED FOR RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) EXAMINING THE EFFECT OF THAI YOGA EXERCISE COMPARED WITH NORMAL DAILY ACTIVITIES AS CONTROLS, IN ANY LANGUAGE. THE WEIGHTED MEAN DIFFERENCE (WMD) AND 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (95% CI) WERE PERFORMED USING THE RANDOM-EFFECTS MODEL. RESULTS: SEVEN RCTS MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA. THAI YOGA TRAINING SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED BODY FLEXIBILITY BY 3.9 CM AFTER 4 WEEKS [95% CI = 3.9-4.0; P < 0.001: NO HETEROGENEITY CHI(2) = 0.66, D.F.2, P = 0.7; I(2) 0.00%] AND 8.9 CM AFTER 8 WEEKS [95% CI = 7.4-10.5; P < 0.001: NO HETEROGENEITY CHI(2) = 0.16, D.F.2, P = 0.9; I(2) 0.00%] COMPARED TO CONTROLS. IT ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED RANGE OF MOTION (ROM) OF RIGHT SHOULDER EXTENSION BY 1.5 DEGREES AT WEEK 8, COMPARED TO CONTROLS [95% CI = 0.12-2.81; P = 0.03; LOW HETEROGENEITY CHI(2) = 1.61, D.F.1, P = 0.2; I(2) 37.9%]. GREATER ROM FOR RIGHT SHOULDER ABDUCTION WAS OBSERVED AFTER 12 WEEKS COMPARED TO CONTROLS [22.2 DEGREES (95% CI = 20-24; P < 0.001): NO HETEROGENEITY CHI(2) = 0.29, D.F.1, P = 0.6; I(2) 0.00%]. CONCLUSIONS: THAI YOGA EXERCISES APPEARED USEFUL, IN PARTICULAR, ON BODY AND RIGHT SHOULDER JOINT FLEXIBILITY. REGULAR STRETCHING EXERCISE OF THAI YOGA AND/OR IN COMBINATION WITH EXERCISES COULD PROMOTE HEALTH-RELATED PHYSICAL FITNESS. 2018 2 221 48 A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF YOGA FOR HYPERTENSION. BACKGROUND: THE AIM OF THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS WAS TO EVALUATE THE QUALITY OF EVIDENCE AND THE STRENGTH OF RECOMMENDATION FOR YOGA AS A THERAPEUTIC MEANS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PREHYPERTENSION AND HYPERTENSION. METHODS: MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, CENTRAL, AND INDMED WERE SCREENED THROUGH FEBRUARY 2014 FOR RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS (>/=8 WEEKS) COMPARED WITH USUAL CARE OR ANY ACTIVE CONTROL INTERVENTION ON BLOOD PRESSURE IN PATIENTS WITH PREHYPERTENSION (120-139/80-89 MM HG) OR HYPERTENSION (>/=140/>/=90 MM HG). RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE RISK OF BIAS TOOL; QUALITY OF EVIDENCE WAS ASSESSED ACCORDING TO THE GRADE RECOMMENDATIONS. RESULTS: SEVEN RCTS WITH A TOTAL OF 452 PATIENTS WERE INCLUDED. COMPARED WITH USUAL CARE, VERY LOW-QUALITY EVIDENCE WAS FOUND FOR EFFECTS OF YOGA ON SYSTOLIC (6 RCTS, N = 278; MEAN DIFFERENCE (MD) = -9.65 MM HG, 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI) = -17.23 TO -2.06, P = 0.01; HETEROGENEITY: I (2) = 90%, CHI(2) = 48.21, P < 0.01) AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (6 RCTS, N = 278; MD = -7.22 MM HG, 95% CI = -12.83 TO -1.62, P = 0.01; HETEROGENEITY: I (2) = 92%, CHI(2) = 64.84, P < 0.01). SUBGROUP ANALYSES REVEALED EFFECTS FOR RCTS THAT INCLUDED HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS BUT NOT FOR RCTS THAT INCLUDED BOTH HYPERTENSIVE AND PREHYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS, AS WELL AS FOR RCTS THAT ALLOWED ANTIHYPERTENSIVE COMEDICATION BUT NOT FOR THOSE THAT DID NOT. MORE ADVERSE EVENTS OCCURRED DURING YOGA THAN DURING USUAL CARE. COMPARED WITH EXERCISE, NO EVIDENCE WAS FOUND FOR EFFECTS OF YOGA ON SYSTOLIC OR DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE. CONCLUSIONS: LARGER STUDIES ARE REQUIRED TO CONFIRM THE EMERGING BUT LOW-QUALITY EVIDENCE THAT YOGA MAY BE A USEFUL ADJUNCT INTERVENTION IN THE MANAGEMENT OF HYPERTENSION. 2014 3 2098 41 THE EFFECT OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS ON CANCER-RELATED FATIGUE AND QUALITY OF LIFE FOR WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. BACKGROUND: WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER (BC) ARE LIVING LONGER WITH DEBILITATING SIDE EFFECTS SUCH AS CANCER-RELATED FATIGUE (CRF) THAT AFFECT OVERALL WELL-BEING. YOGA PROMOTES HEALTH, WELL-BEING AND MAY BE BENEFICIAL IN REDUCING CRF. ALTHOUGH THERE HAVE BEEN PREVIOUS SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS AND META-ANALYSES, THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON CRF AND QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) REMAIN UNCLEAR, PARTICULARLY IN COMPARISON WITH OTHER TYPES OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY (PA). OUR OBJECTIVE IS TO CARRY OUT A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON CRF AND QOL IN WOMEN WITH BC. METHODS: ELECTRONIC DATABASES WERE SEARCHED (MEDLINE, EMBASE CLASSIC+EMBASE AND EMB REVIEWS, COCHRANE CENTRAL CT) FROM INCEPTION TO MAY 2018. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS WERE INCLUDED IF THEY WERE FULL TEXT, IN ENGLISH, INCLUDED A YOGA INTERVENTION, A COMPARATOR (INCLUDING NON-PA USUAL CARE OR ALTERNATE PA INTERVENTION), AND REPORTED ON CRF OR QOL. EFFECTS OF YOGA WERE POOLED USING STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE (SMD) VIA A RANDOM EFFECTS MODEL. RESULTS: OF THE 2468 RECORDS RETRIEVED, 24 TRIALS WERE INCLUDED; 18 STUDIES COMPARED YOGA TO A NON-PA COMPARATOR AND 6 TO A PA COMPARATOR. YOGA DEMONSTRATED STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN CRF OVER NON-PA (SMD -0.30 [-0.51; -0.08]) BUT NOT PA (SMD -0.17 [-0.50; 0.17]) COMPARATORS. ADDITIONALLY, YOGA DEMONSTRATED STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN QOL OVER NON-PA (SMD -0.27 [-0.46; -0.07]) BUT NOT PA (SMD 0.04 [-0.22; +0.31]) COMPARATORS. DISCUSSION: THIS META-ANALYSIS FOUND THAT YOGA PROVIDES SMALL TO MEDIUM IMPROVEMENTS IN CRF AND QOL COMPARED TO NON-PA, BUT NOT IN COMPARISON TO OTHER PA INTERVENTIONS. 2020 4 2144 42 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 5 2571 62 YOGA FOR EPILEPSY. BACKGROUND: THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL COCHRANE REVIEW PUBLISHED IN THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, ISSUE 1, 2002.YOGA MAY INDUCE RELAXATION AND STRESS REDUCTION, AND INFLUENCE THE ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM AND THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM, THEREBY CONTROLLING SEIZURES. YOGA WOULD BE AN ATTRACTIVE THERAPEUTIC OPTION FOR EPILEPSY IF PROVED EFFECTIVE. OBJECTIVES: TO ASSESS WHETHER PEOPLE WITH EPILEPSY TREATED WITH YOGA:(A) HAVE A GREATER PROBABILITY OF BECOMING SEIZURE FREE;(B) HAVE A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN THE FREQUENCY OR DURATION OF SEIZURES, OR BOTH; AND(C) HAVE A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE. SEARCH METHODS: WE SEARCHED THE COCHRANE EPILEPSY GROUP SPECIALIZED REGISTER (26 MARCH 2015), THE COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS (CENTRAL, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, 26 MARCH 2015), MEDLINE (OVID, 1946 TO 26 MARCH 2015), SCOPUS (1823 TO 9 JANUARY 2014), CLINICALTRIALS.GOV (26 MARCH 2015), THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) INTERNATIONAL CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY PLATFORM ICTRP (26 MARCH 2015), AND ALSO REGISTRIES OF THE YOGA BIOMEDICAL TRUST AND THE RESEARCH COUNCIL FOR COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE. IN ADDITION, WE SEARCHED THE REFERENCES OF ALL THE IDENTIFIED STUDIES. NO LANGUAGE RESTRICTIONS WERE IMPOSED. SELECTION CRITERIA: THE FOLLOWING STUDY DESIGNS WERE ELIGIBLE FOR INCLUSION: RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCT) OF TREATMENT OF EPILEPSY WITH YOGA. ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS WERE ADULTS WITH UNCONTROLLED EPILEPSY COMPARING YOGA WITH NO TREATMENT OR DIFFERENT BEHAVIOURAL TREATMENTS. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: THREE REVIEW AUTHORS INDEPENDENTLY SELECTED TRIALS FOR INCLUSION AND EXTRACTED DATA. THE FOLLOWING OUTCOMES WERE ASSESSED: (A) PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE RENDERED SEIZURE FREE; (B) SEIZURE FREQUENCY AND DURATION; (C) QUALITY OF LIFE. ANALYSES WERE ON AN INTENTION-TO-TREAT BASIS. ODDS RATIO (OR) WITH 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (95% CL) WERE ESTIMATED FOR THE OUTCOMES. MAIN RESULTS: TWO UNBLINDED TRIALS RECRUITED A TOTAL OF 50 PEOPLE (18 TREATED WITH YOGA AND 32 TO CONTROL INTERVENTIONS). ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUGS WERE CONTINUED IN ALL THE PARTICIPANTS. BASELINE PHASE LASTED 3 MONTHS IN BOTH STUDIES AND TREATMENT PHASE FROM 5 WEEKS TO 6 MONTHS IN THE TWO TRIALS. RANDOMISATION WAS BY ROLL OF A DIE IN ONE STUDY AND USING A COMPUTERISED RANDOMISATION TABLE IN THE OTHER ONE BUT NEITHER STUDY PROVIDED DETAILS OF CONCEALMENT OF ALLOCATION AND WERE RATED AS UNCLEAR RISK OF BIAS. OVERALL, THE TWO STUDIES WERE RATED AS LOW RISK OF BIAS (ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE INCLUDED IN THE ANALYSIS; ALL EXPECTED AND PRE-EXPECTED OUTCOMES WERE REPORTED; NO OTHER SOURCES OF BIAS). THE OVERALL OR WITH 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI) WAS: (I) SEIZURE FREE FOR SIX MONTHS - FOR YOGA VERSUS SHAM YOGA ORS OF 14.54 (95% CI 0.67 TO 316.69) AND FOR YOGA VERSUS NO TREATMENT GROUP 17.31 (95% CI 0.80 TO 373.45); FOR ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT THERAPY (ACT) VERSUS YOGA ORS OF 1.00 (95% CL 0.16 TO 6.42; (II) REDUCTION IN SEIZURE FREQUENCY - THE MEAN DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOGA VERSUS SHAM YOGA GROUP WAS -2.10 (95% CI -3.15 TO -1.05) AND FOR YOGA VERSUS NO TREATMENT GROUP -1.10 (95% CI -1.80 TO -0.40); (III) MORE THAN 50% REDUCTION IN SEIZURE FREQUENCY - FOR YOGA VERSUS SHAM YOGA GROUP ORS OF 81.00 (95% CI 4.36 TO 1504.46) AND FOR THE YOGA VERSUS NO TREATMENT GROUP 158.33 (95% CI 5.78 TO 4335.63); ACT VERSUS YOGA ORS OF 0.78 (95% CL 0.04 TO 14.75); (IV) MORE THAN 50% REDUCTION IN SEIZURE DURATION - FOR YOGA VERSUS SHAM YOGA GROUP ORS OF 45.00 (95% CI 2.01 TO 1006.75) AND FOR YOGA VERSUS NO TREATMENT GROUP 53.57 (95% CI 2.42 TO 1187.26); ACT VERSUS YOGA ORS OF 0.67 (95% CL 0.10 TO 4.35). IN ADDITION IN PANJWANI 1996 THE AUTHORS REPORTED THAT THE ONE-WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE REVEALED NO STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE THREE GROUPS. A P-LAMBDA TEST TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE P VALUES BETWEEN THE THREE GROUPS ALSO INDICATED THAT THE DURATION OF EPILEPSY IN THE THREE GROUPS WAS NOT COMPARABLE. NO DATA WERE AVAILABLE REGARDING QUALITY OF LIFE. IN LUNDGREN 2008 THE AUTHORS REPORTED THAT THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE YOGA AND ACT GROUPS IN SEIZURE FREE RATES, 50% OR GREATER REDUCTION IN SEIZURE FREQUENCY OR SEIZURE DURATION AT ONE YEAR FOLLOW-UP. THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE ACCORDING TO THE SATISFACTION WITH LIFE SCALE (SWLS) (P < 0.05), WHILE THE ACT GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION QUALITY OF LIFE-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) SCALE (P < 0.01). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: STUDY OF 50 SUBJECTS WITH EPILEPSY FROM TWO TRIALS REVEALS POSSIBLE BENEFICIAL EFFECT IN CONTROL OF SEIZURES. RESULTS OF THE OVERALL EFFICACY ANALYSIS SHOW THAT YOGA TREATMENT WAS BETTER WHEN COMPARED WITH NO INTERVENTION OR INTERVENTIONS OTHER THAN YOGA (POSTURAL EXERCISES MIMICKING YOGA). THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOGA AND ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT THERAPY. HOWEVER NO RELIABLE CONCLUSIONS CAN BE DRAWN REGARDING THE EFFICACY OF YOGA AS A TREATMENT FOR UNCONTROLLED EPILEPSY, IN VIEW OF METHODOLOGICAL DEFICIENCIES SUCH AS LIMITED NUMBER OF STUDIES, LIMITED NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS RANDOMISED TO YOGA, LACK OF BLINDING AND LIMITED DATA ON QUALITY-OF-LIFE OUTCOME. PHYSICIAN BLINDING WOULD NORMALLY BE TAKEN TO BE THE PERSON DELIVERING THE INTERVENTION, WHEREAS WE THINK THE 'PHYSICIAN' WOULD IN FACT BE THE OUTCOME ASSESSOR (WHO COULD BE BLINDED), SO THAT WOULD BE A REDUCTION IN DETECTION BIAS RATHER THAN PERFORMANCE BIAS. IN ADDITION, EVIDENCE TO INFORM OUTCOMES IS LIMITED AND OF LOW QUALITY. FURTHER HIGH-QUALITY RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO FULLY EVALUATE THE EFFICACY OF YOGA FOR REFRACTORY EPILEPSY. 2015 6 1065 49 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER: A META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. BACKGROUND: COMPLICATIONS OF BREAST CANCER TREATMENT CAN CAUSE PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOSOCIAL DISTRESS IN PATIENTS. YOGA DEMONSTRATES SUBSTANTIAL POTENTIAL AS A SUPPORTIVE THERAPY FOR PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER. OUR AIM IS TO CONDUCT A META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA IN ENHANCING THE QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) OF PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER. METHODS: WE SEARCHED FOR STUDIES PUBLISHED BEFORE MARCH 2020 IN THE PUBMED, EMBASE, AND COCHRANE LIBRARY DATABASES. INDIVIDUAL EFFECT SIZES WERE STANDARDIZED, AND THE POOLED EFFECT SIZE WAS CALCULATED USING A RANDOM EFFECT MODEL. MEASURED OUTCOMES INCLUDED QOL, ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION, STRESS, FATIGUE, PAIN SEVERITY, AND SLEEP QUALITY. RESULTS: IN TOTAL, 26 TRIALS INVOLVING 2069 PATIENTS WERE REVIEWED. SIGNIFICANT ENHANCEMENT IN QOL WAS OBSERVED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE YOGA INTERVENTION. THE POOLED MEAN DIFFERENCES IN SOCIAL (WEIGHTED MEAN DIFFERENCE [WMD]: 1.36, 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI] 0.12-2.61), EMOTIONAL (WMD: 1.46, 95% CI 0.26-2.66), AND FUNCTIONAL WELL-BEING (WMD: 2.04, 95% CI 0.21-3.87) WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN THE YOGA GROUP THAN IN THE CONTROL GROUP. PATIENTS PRACTICING YOGA EXHIBITED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN PHYSICAL WELL-BEING, MENTAL WELL-BEING, AND SLEEP QUALITY AS WELL AS REDUCTIONS IN ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, STRESS, FATIGUE, AND PAIN SEVERITY AFTER THE INTERVENTION. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA MAY ENHANCE QOL IN PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER EXPERIENCING POST-TREATMENT COMPLICATIONS. THEREFORE, WE RECOMMEND YOGA AS A SUPPORTIVE THERAPY FOR PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER TO RELIEVE POST-TREATMENT DISTRESS. 2021 7 2178 41 THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PAIN, MOBILITY, AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. OBJECTIVE. TO SYSTEMATICALLY ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PAIN, MOBILITY, AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS. METHODS. PUBMED, MEDLINE, EMBASE, THE COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS, PHYSIOTHERAPY EVIDENCE DATABASE (PEDRO), AND OTHER SOURCES WERE SEARCHED SYSTEMATICALLY IN THIS STUDY. TWO REVIEWERS IDENTIFIED ELIGIBLE STUDIES AND EXTRACTED DATA INDEPENDENTLY. DOWNS AND BLACK'S QUALITY INDEX WERE USED TO EVALUATE THE METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY OF THE INCLUDED STUDIES. RESULTS. A TOTAL OF 9 ARTICLES (6 STUDIES) INVOLVING 372 PATIENTS WITH KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA. THE MOST COMMON YOGA PROTOCOL IS 40~90 MINUTES/SESSION, LASTING FOR AT LEAST 8 WEEKS. THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON PAIN RELIEF AND FUNCTION IMPROVEMENT COULD BE SEEN AFTER TWO-WEEK INTERVENTION. CONCLUSION. THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW SHOWED THAT YOGA MIGHT HAVE POSITIVE EFFECTS IN RELIEVING PAIN AND MOBILITY ON PATIENTS WITH KOA, BUT THE EFFECTS ON QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) ARE UNCLEAR. BESIDES, MORE OUTCOME MEASURE RELATED TO MENTAL HEALTH OF YOGA EFFECTS ON PEOPLE WITH KOA SHOULD BE CONDUCTED. 2016 8 2491 41 YOGA AS ANTIHYPERTENSIVE LIFESTYLE THERAPY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. OBJECTIVE: TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFICACY OF YOGA AS ANTIHYPERTENSIVE LIFESTYLE THERAPY AND IDENTIFY MODERATORS THAT ACCOUNT FOR VARIABILITY IN THE BLOOD PRESSURE (BP) RESPONSE TO YOGA. METHODS: WE SYSTEMATICALLY SEARCHED 6 ELECTRONIC DATABASES FROM INCEPTION THROUGH JUNE 4, 2018, FOR ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE JOURNALS ON TRIALS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS THAT INVOLVED ADULT PARTICIPANTS, REPORTED PREINTERVENTION AND POSTINTERVENTION BP, AND HAD A NONEXERCISE/NONDIET CONTROL GROUP. OUR SEARCH YIELDED 49 QUALIFYING CONTROLLED TRIALS (56 INTERVENTIONS). WE (1) EVALUATED THE RISK OF BIAS AND METHODOLOGICAL STUDY QUALITY, (2) PERFORMED META-REGRESSION ANALYSIS FOLLOWING RANDOM-EFFECTS ASSUMPTIONS, AND (3) GENERATED ADDITIVE MODELS THAT REPRESENTED THE LARGEST POSSIBLE CLINICALLY RELEVANT BP REDUCTIONS. RESULTS: ON AVERAGE, THE 3517 TRIAL PARTICIPANTS WERE MIDDLE-AGED (49.2+/-19.5 YEARS), OVERWEIGHT (27.9+/-3.6 KG/M(2)) ADULTS WITH HIGH BP (SYSTOLIC BP, 129.3+/-13.3 MM HG; DIASTOLIC BP, 80.7+/-8.4 MM HG). YOGA WAS PRACTICED 4.8+/-3.4 SESSIONS PER WEEK FOR 59.2+/-25.0 MINUTES PER SESSION FOR 13.2+/-7.5 WEEKS. ON AVERAGE, YOGA ELICITED MODERATE REDUCTIONS IN SYSTOLIC BP (WEIGHTED MEAN EFFECT SIZE, -0.47; 95% CI, -0.62-0.32, -5.0 MM HG) AND DIASTOLIC BP (WEIGHTED MEAN EFFECT SIZE, -0.47; 95% CI, -0.61 TO -0.32; -3.9 MM HG) COMPARED WITH CONTROLS (P<.001 FOR BOTH SYSTOLIC BP AND DIASTOLIC BP). CONTROLLING FOR PUBLICATION BIAS AND METHODOLOGICAL STUDY QUALITY, WHEN YOGA WAS PRACTICED 3 SESSIONS PER WEEK AMONG SAMPLES WITH HYPERTENSION, YOGA INTERVENTIONS THAT INCLUDED BREATHING TECHNIQUES AND MEDITATION/MENTAL RELAXATION ELICITED BP REDUCTIONS OF 11/6 MM HG COMPARED WITH THOSE THAT DID NOT (IE, 6/3 MM HG). CONCLUSION: OUR RESULTS INDICATE THAT YOGA IS A VIABLE ANTIHYPERTENSIVE LIFESTYLE THERAPY THAT PRODUCES THE GREATEST BP BENEFITS WHEN BREATHING TECHNIQUES AND MEDITATION/MENTAL RELAXATION ARE INCLUDED. 2019 9 2104 57 THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON HEALTH-RELATED FITNESS AMONG PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND: THERE IS A NEED FOR A TYPE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY THAT COULD ADDRESS THE CHALLENGING CYCLE OF PHYSICAL INACTIVITY, IMPAIRED HEALTH-RELATED FITNESS, AND TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS (T2DM) CONDITIONS. YOGA COULD BE ONE TYPE OF EXERCISE TO OVERCOME THE BARRIERS TO ADHERE TO REGULAR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. THE CURRENT STUDY AIMED TO SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEW THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON HEALTH-RELATED FITNESS, INCLUDING CARDIORESPIRATORY FITNESS, MUSCLE STRENGTH, BODY COMPOSITION, BALANCE, AND FLEXIBILITY, AMONG PATIENTS WITH T2DM. METHODS: WE SYSTEMATICALLY SEARCHED FOUR DATABASES AND TWO REGISTRIES (PUBMED, SCOPUS, COCHRANE, EMBASE, WHO-ITCRP, AND CLINICALTRIALS.GOV) IN SEPTEMBER 2021, FOLLOWING A REGISTERED PROTOCOL ON PROSPERO (CRD42022276225). STUDY INCLUSION CRITERIA WERE T2DM PATIENTS WITH OR WITHOUT COMPLICATION, YOGA INTERVENTION AS A SINGLE COMPONENT OR AS A COMPLEMENT COMPARED TO OTHER KINDS OF EXERCISE OR AN INACTIVE CONTROL, HEALTH-RELATED FITNESS, AND A RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED TRIAL OR QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL WITH CONTROL GROUP DESIGN. THE ROBINS-I TOOL AND ROB 2.0 TOOL WERE USED TO ASSESS THE RISK OF BIAS IN THE INCLUDED STUDIES. A VOTE-COUNTING ANALYSIS AND META-ANALYSIS COMPUTED USING RANDOM EFFECTS' MODELS WERE CONDUCTED. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 10 RECORDS FROM 3 QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL AND 7 RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED TRIALS WITH 815 PARTICIPANTS IN TOTAL WERE INCLUDED. THE META-ANALYSIS FAVORED YOGA GROUPS COMPARED TO INACTIVE CONTROLS IN IMPROVING MUSCLE STRENGTH BY 3.42 (95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL 2.42 TO 4.43), REPETITIONS OF CHAIR STAND TEST, AND IMPROVING CARDIORESPIRATORY FITNESS BY 6.6% (95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL 0.4 TO 12.8) IMPROVEMENT OF BASELINE FORCED VITAL CAPACITY. THE QUALITY OF EVIDENCE FOR BOTH OUTCOMES WAS LOW. CONCLUSION: LOW-QUALITY EVIDENCE FAVORED YOGA IN IMPROVING HEALTH-RELATED FITNESS, PARTICULARLY MUSCLE STRENGTH AND CARDIORESPIRATORY FITNESS, AMONG PATIENTS WITH T2DM. FUNDING: ALL AUTHORS IN THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW RECEIVED NO SPECIFIC GRANT FROM ANY FUNDING AGENCY IN THE PUBLIC, COMMERCIAL, OR NOT-FOR-PROFIT SECTORS. 2022 10 2593 40 YOGA FOR MENSTRUAL PAIN IN PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA: A META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. OBJECTIVES: TO ASSESS THE OVERALL EFFECT SIZE OF THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON MENSTRUAL PAIN IN PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA. METHODS: RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS THAT WERE PUBLISHED IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE UNTIL DECEMBER 2018 IN PUBMED, EMBASE, WEB OF SCIENCE, AND THE COCHRANE LIBRARY ELECTRONIC DATABASES WERE SEARCHED. THE METHODOLOGIES FROM 4 TRIALS CONDUCTED ON 230 PARTICIPANTS WITH PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA WERE INCLUDED IN THIS META-ANALYSIS TO COMPARE THE EFFECTS THAT PERFORMING A YOGA PROGRAM HAS ON MENSTRUAL PAIN (N=129) TO THE EFFECTS OF NOT PERFORMING YOGA (N=101). RESULTS: THE OVERALL EFFECT SIZE OF THE IMPACT OF A YOGA PROGRAM ON MENSTRUAL PAIN IN PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA WAS HIGH WITH A STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE OF -2.09 (-3.99 TO -0.19) (P=0.031) AMONG THE EFFECT SIZES OF THE 4 TRIALS (95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL). CONCLUSIONS: YOGA IS AN EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION FOR ALLEVIATING MENSTRUAL PAIN IN WOMEN WITH PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA. 2019 11 2271 43 THE RISKS AND BENEFITS OF YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. OBJECTIVES: TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS AND SAFETY OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS ON DISEASE SYMPTOMS, QUALITY OF LIFE AND FUNCTION IN PATIENTS DIAGNOSED WITH CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD). DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, AND CENTRAL (COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS) WERE SEARCHED THROUGH 6 JUNE 2019. REVIEW METHODS: RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS ASSESSING THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON QUALITY OF LIFE, DYSPNEA, EXERCISE CAPACITY, AND PULMONARY FUNCTION (FEV1) IN PATIENTS WITH COPD WERE INCLUDED. SAFETY WAS DEFINED AS SECONDARY OUTCOME. MEAN DIFFERENCES (MD) AND STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCES (SMD) WITH 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CIS) WERE COMPUTED. RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE TOOL. RESULTS: ELEVEN RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS WITH A TOTAL OF 586 PATIENTS WERE INCLUDED. META-ANALYSIS REVEALED EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS OF YOGA COMPARED TO NO TREATMENT ON QUALITY OF LIFE ON THE COPD ASSESSMENT TEST (MD = 3.81; 95% CI = 0.97 TO 6.65; P = 0.009, I(2) = 70%), EXERCISE CAPACITY ASSESSED BY THE 6-MINUTE WALK TEST (MD = 25.53 M; 95% CI = 12.16 M TO 38.90 M; P = 0.001, I(2) = 0%), AND PULMONARY FUNCTION ASSESSED BY FEV1 PREDICTED (MD = 3.95%; 95% CI = 2.74% TO 5.17%; P < 0.001, I(2) = 0%). ONLY THE EFFECTS ON EXERCISE CAPACITY AND PULMONARY FUNCTION WERE ROBUST AGAINST METHODOLOGICAL BIAS. EFFECTS WERE ONLY PRESENT IN BREATHING-FOCUSED YOGA INTERVENTIONS BUT NOT IN INTERVENTIONS INCLUDING YOGA POSTURES. ADVERSE EVENTS WERE REPORTED INFREQUENTLY. CONCLUSION: THIS META-ANALYSIS FOUND ROBUST EFFECTS OF YOGA ON EXERCISE CAPACITY AND PULMONARY FUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH COPD. YOGA, SPECIFICALLY YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUES, CAN BE AN EFFECTIVE ADJUNCT INTERVENTION FOR PATIENTS WITH COPD. YOGA'S SAFETY NEEDS TO BE ASSESSED IN MORE DEPTH IN FUTURE STUDIES. 2019 12 223 35 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 13 2635 45 YOGA FOR TREATING RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. PURPOSE: RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA) IS A PERVASIVE INFLAMMATORY AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE THAT SERIOUSLY IMPAIRS HUMAN HEALTH AND REQUIRES MORE EFFECTIVE NON-PHARMACOLOGIC TREATMENT APPROACHES. THIS STUDY AIMS TO SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEW AND EVALUATE THE EFFICACY OF YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH RA. METHODS: MEDLINE (THROUGH PUBMED), COCHRANE LIBRARY, EMBASE (THROUGH SCOPUS), AND WEB OF SCIENCE DATABASE WERE SCREENED THROUGH FOR ARTICLES PUBLISHED UNTIL 20 JULY 2020. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) OF YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH RA WERE INCLUDED. OUTCOMES MEASURES WERE PAIN, PHYSICAL FUNCTION, DISEASE ACTIVITY, INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES, AND GRIP STRENGTH. FOR EACH OUTCOME, STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCES (SMD) AND 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CI) WERE CALCULATED. RESULT: TEN TRIALS INCLUDING 840 PATIENTS WITH RA AGED 30-70 YEARS WERE IDENTIFIED, WITH 86% FEMALE PARTICIPANTS. META-ANALYSIS REVEALED A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT OVERALL EFFECT IN FAVOR OF YOGA FOR PHYSICAL FUNCTION (HAQ-DI) (5 RCTS; SMD = -0.32, 95% CI -0.58 TO -0.05, I (2) = 15%, P = 0.02), DISEASE ACTIVITY (DAS-28) (4 RCTS; SMD = -0.38, 95% CI -0.71 TO -0.06, I (2) = 41%, P = 0.02) AND GRIP STRENGTH (2 RCTS; SMD = 1.30, 95% CI 0.47-2.13, I (2) = 63%, P = 0.002). NO EFFECTS WERE FOUND FOR PAIN, TENDER JOINTS, SWOLLEN JOINTS COUNT OR INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES (I.E., CRP, ESR, IL-6, AND TNF-ALPHA). SUMMARY: THE FINDINGS OF THIS META-ANALYSIS INDICATE THAT YOGA MAY BE BENEFICIAL FOR IMPROVING PHYSICAL FUNCTION, DISEASE ACTIVITY, AND GRIP STRENGTH IN PATIENTS WITH RA. HOWEVER, THE BALANCE OF EVIDENCE SHOWED THAT YOGA HAD NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECT IN IMPROVING PAIN, TENDER JOINTS, SWOLLEN JOINTS COUNT, AND INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES IN PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM RA. CONSIDERING METHODOLOGICAL LIMITATIONS, SMALL SAMPLE SIZE, AND LOW-QUALITY, WE DRAW A VERY CAUTIOUS CONCLUSION IN THE RESULTS OF THE ESTIMATE OF THE EFFECT. HIGH-QUALITY AND LARGE-SCALE RCTS ARE URGENTLY NEEDED IN THE FUTURE, AND THE REAL RESULT MAY BE SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT. 2020 14 2365 38 WALKING IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN YOGA AT REDUCING SLEEP DISTURBANCE IN CANCER PATIENTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. THIS REVIEW AIMED TO DETERMINE WHETHER WALKING IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN YOGA AT IMPROVING SLEEP DISTURBANCE IN CANCER PATIENTS. A SYSTEMATIC SEARCH OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS WAS PERFORMED IN THE PUBMED, EMBASE, CINAHL, COCHRANE LIBRARY, CNKI, AIRITI LIBRARY, AND OTHER HEALTH-RELATED DATABASES. TWENTY-FIVE STUDIES WERE IDENTIFIED WITH A TOTAL OF 1918 PARTICIPANTS. THE PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INDEX WAS THE MOST COMMONLY USED OUTCOME MEASUREMENT TOOL, AND MODERATE-INTENSITY WALKING WAS THE MOST FREQUENTLY USED INTERVENTION. THE MAJORITY OF THE INCLUDED SUBJECTS WERE BREAST CANCER PATIENTS. OVERALL, WALKING SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED SLEEP DISTURBANCE COMPARED TO YOGA (P = 0.01). STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT MODERATORS INCLUDED ADHERENCE RATE FOR WALKING (P < 0.001) AND ALLOCATION CONCEALMENT AND OUTCOME MEASUREMENT TOOL FOR YOGA (P = 0.04; P = 0.03). WE CONCLUDED THAT WALKING IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN YOGA IN IMPROVING SLEEP DISTURBANCE IN CANCER PATIENTS. THUS, MODERATE-INTENSITY WALKING IS RECOMMENDED FOR CANCER PATIENTS WITH SLEEP DISTURBANCE. 2019 15 2566 42 YOGA FOR DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY SYMPTOMS IN PEOPLE WITH CANCER: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. OBJECTIVE: CANCER AND ITS TREATMENT CAN LEAD TO A VARIETY OF PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL CONCERNS IMPACTING ON THOSE AFFECTED, INCLUDING SUBCLINICAL OR CLINICAL DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, WHICH IN TURN HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON WELLBEING, QUALITY OF LIFE AND SURVIVAL. THE AIM OF THIS REVIEW WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS ON SELF-REPORTED DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY SYMPTOMS IN PEOPLE WITH CANCER IN RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. METHOD: SIX DATABASES WERE SEARCHED TO IDENTIFY RELEVANT STUDIES. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW PROCEDURES WERE FOLLOWED INCLUDING A QUALITY ASSESSMENT. META-ANALYSIS OF SUITABLE STUDIES WAS CONDUCTED. RESULTS: 26 STUDIES FROM OUR SEARCH CRITERIA WERE ELIGIBLE FOR INCLUSION FOR DEPRESSIVE AND 16 FOR ANXIETY SYMPTOMS. META-ANALYSES REVEALED EVIDENCE FOR SIGNIFICANT MEDIUM EFFECTS OF YOGA ON DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS (N = 1,486, G = -0.419, 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI] = -0.558 TO -0.281, P < 0.001) AND ANXIETY (N = 977, G = -0.347, 95% CI = -0.473 TO -0.221, P < 0.001) COMPARED TO CONTROLS. SUBGROUP ANALYSES FOR DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS REVEALED SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS FOR ALL ANALYSES PERFORMED (TYPE OF CANCER, TYPE OF CONTROL, TREATMENT STATUS, DURATION OF INTERVENTION OR FREQUENCY OF YOGA SESSIONS), WITH EFFECT SIZES BEING COMPARABLE BETWEEN SUBGROUPS. SIMILAR FINDINGS WERE FOUND FOR ANXIETY SYMPTOMS EXCEPT FOR TREATMENT STATUS, WHERE THE ONLY SIGNIFICANT EFFECT WAS FOUND WHEN YOGA WAS DELIVERED DURING ACTIVE TREATMENT. CONCLUSIONS: THIS REVIEW PROVIDES EVIDENCE THAT IN PEOPLE WITH CANCER, YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH AMELIORATION OF DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY SYMPTOMS AND THEREFORE A PROMISING THERAPEUTIC MODALITY FOR THEIR MANAGEMENT. HOWEVER, THE POTENTIAL FOR RISK OF BIAS TOGETHER WITH CONTROL GROUP DESIGN CHALLENGES MEANS THE RESULTS SHOULD BE INTERPRETED WITH CAUTION. 2021 16 1101 55 EFFECTS OF YOGA TRAINING IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. INTRODUCTION: CURRENTLY, SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE ASSESSED THE EFFECT OF YOGA TRAINING ON THE MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD), BUT THESE STUDIES INVOLVED A WIDE VARIATION OF SAMPLE AND CONVEY INCONCLUSIVE RESULTS. HENCE, THE PRESENT STUDY WAS PERFORMED A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFICACY OF YOGA TRAINING IN COPD PATIENTS. METHODS: PUBMED, EMBASE, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, GOOGLE SCHOLAR, AND CLINICALTRIALS.GOV DATABASES WERE SEARCHED FOR RELEVANT STUDIES. THE PRIMARY OUTCOMES WERE FORCED EXPIRATORY VOLUME IN ONE SECOND (FEV1), FEV1% PREDICTED (% PRED). SECONDARY OUTCOMES INCLUDED 6-MIN WALKING DISTANCE (6 MWD), ARTERIAL OXYGEN TENSION (PAO2), AND ARTERIAL CARBON DIOXIDE TENSION (PACO2). WEIGHTED MEAN DIFFERENCES (WMDS) AND 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CIS) WERE CALCULATED, AND HETEROGENEITY WAS ASSESSED WITH THE I(2) TEST. RESULTS: FIVE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) INVOLVING 233 PATIENTS FULFILLED THE INCLUSION CRITERIA. YOGA TRAINING SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED FEV1 (WMD: 123.57 ML, 95% CI: 4.12-243, P=0.04), FEV1% PRED (WMD: 3.90%, 95% CI: 2.27-5.54, P<0.00001), AND 6 MWD (WMD: 38.84 M, 95% CI: 15.52-62.16, P=0.001). HOWEVER, YOGA TRAINING HAD NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS ON PAO2 (WMD: 1.29 MMHG, 95% CI: -1.21-3.78, P=0.31) AND PACO2 (WMD: -0.76 MMHG, 95% CI: -2.06-0.53, P=0.25). CONCLUSIONS: THE CURRENT LIMITED EVIDENCE SUGGESTED THAT YOGA TRAINING HAS A POSITIVE EFFECT ON IMPROVING LUNG FUNCTION AND EXERCISE CAPACITY AND COULD BE USED AS AN ADJUNCT PULMONARY REHABILITATION PROGRAM IN COPD PATIENTS. HOWEVER, FURTHER STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO SUBSTANTIATE OUR PRELIMINARY FINDINGS AND TO INVESTIGATE THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF YOGA TRAINING. 2014 17 2647 39 YOGA HAS A SOLID EFFECT ON CANCER-RELATED FATIGUE IN PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER: A META-ANALYSIS. PURPOSE: THIS STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO CRITICALLY EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON CANCER-RELATED FATIGUE IN PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER. METHODS: EIGHT DATABASES (COCHRANE LIBRARY, PUBMED, OVID-MEDLINE, WEB OF SCIENCE, CBM, WANFANG, VIP, AND CNKI) WERE SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEWED FROM INCEPTION TO JANUARY 2019 FOR RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS). TWO REVIEWERS CRITICALLY AND INDEPENDENTLY ASSESSED THE RISK OF BIAS USING COCHRANE COLLABORATION CRITERIA AND EXTRACTED CORRELATED DATA USING THE DESIGNED FORM. ALL ANALYSES WERE PERFORMED WITH REVIEW MANAGER 5.3. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 17 QUALIFIED STUDIES THAT INCLUDED 2183 PATIENTS (YOGA: 1112, CONTROL: 1071) WERE INCLUDED IN THE META-ANALYSIS. YOGA HAD A LARGE EFFECT ON FATIGUE IN POST-TREATMENT BREAST CANCER PATIENTS AND HAD A SMALL EFFECT ON INTRA-TREATMENT PATIENTS. THE META-ANALYSIS ALSO INDICATED THAT SUPERVISED YOGA CLASS HAD A SIGNIFICANT EFFECT ON CRF; THE SIX-WEEK PROGRAM HAD A MODERATE BENEFICIAL EFFECT WHILE THE 60/90 MIN/SESSION SUPERVISED YOGA CLASS AND THE EIGHT-WEEK PROGRAM DEMONSTRATED A LARGE EFFECT ON FATIGUE IN PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER. YOGA COULD MARKEDLY MITIGATE THE PHYSICAL FATIGUE IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS, HAD A MEDIUM IMPACT ON COGNITIVE FATIGUE, AND MANIFESTED A SMALL EFFECT ON MENTAL FATIGUE. EIGHT STUDIES REPORTED THE ADVERSE EVENTS, WHEREAS TEN STUDIES DID NOT. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA CAN BE CONSIDERED AS AN ALTERNATIVE THERAPY FOR RELIEVING FATIGUE IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS WHO HAVE COMPLETED TREATMENT OR ARE UNDERGOING ANTI-CANCER TREATMENT. 2019 18 2559 45 YOGA FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN: A META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. OBJECTIVES: TO EVALUATE THE EFFICACY OF YOGA AS AN INTERVENTION FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN (CLBP) USING A META-ANALYTICAL APPROACH. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) THAT EXAMINED PAIN ANDOR FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY AS TREATMENT OUTCOMES WERE INCLUDED. POST-TREATMENT AND FOLLOW-UP OUTCOMES WERE ASSESSED. METHODS: A COMPREHENSIVE SEARCH OF RELEVANT ELECTRONIC DATABASES, FROM THE TIME OF THEIR INCEPTION UNTIL NOVEMBER 2011, WAS CONDUCTED. COHEN'S D EFFECT SIZES WERE CALCULATED AND ENTERED IN A RANDOM-EFFECTS MODEL. RESULTS: EIGHT RCTS MET THE CRITERIA FOR INCLUSION (EIGHT ASSESSING FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY AND FIVE ASSESSING PAIN) AND INVOLVED A TOTAL OF 743 PATIENTS. AT POST-TREATMENT, YOGA HAD A MEDIUM TO LARGE EFFECT ON FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY (D=0.645) AND PAIN (D=0.623). DESPITE A WIDE RANGE OF YOGA STYLES AND TREATMENT DURATIONS, HETEROGENEITY IN POST-TREATMENT EFFECT SIZES WAS LOW. FOLLOW-UP EFFECT SIZES FOR FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY AND PAIN WERE SMALLER, BUT REMAINED SIGNIFICANT (D=0.397 AND D=0.486, RESPECTIVELY); HOWEVER, THERE WAS A MODERATE TO HIGH LEVEL OF VARIABILITY IN THESE EFFECT SIZES. DISCUSSION: THE RESULTS OF THE PRESENT STUDY INDICATE THAT YOGA MAY BE AN EFFICACIOUS ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT FOR CLBP. THE STRONGEST AND MOST CONSISTENT EVIDENCE EMERGED FOR THE SHORT-TERM BENEFITS OF YOGA ON FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY. HOWEVER, BEFORE ANY DEFINITIVE CONCLUSIONS CAN BE DRAWN, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF METHODOLOGICAL CONCERNS THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED. IN PARTICULAR, IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT FUTURE RCTS INCLUDE AN ACTIVE CONTROL GROUP TO DETERMINE WHETHER YOGA HAS SPECIFIC TREATMENT EFFECTS AND WHETHER YOGA OFFERS ANY ADVANTAGES OVER TRADITIONAL EXERCISE PROGRAMS AND OTHER ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES FOR CLBP. 2013 19 2620 64 YOGA FOR STROKE REHABILITATION. BACKGROUND: STROKE IS A MAJOR HEALTH ISSUE AND CAUSE OF LONG-TERM DISABILITY AND HAS A MAJOR EMOTIONAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACT. THERE IS A NEED TO EXPLORE OPTIONS FOR LONG-TERM SUSTAINABLE INTERVENTIONS THAT SUPPORT STROKE SURVIVORS TO ENGAGE IN MEANINGFUL ACTIVITIES TO ADDRESS LIFE CHALLENGES AFTER STROKE. REHABILITATION FOCUSES ON RECOVERY OF FUNCTION AND COGNITION TO THE MAXIMUM LEVEL ACHIEVABLE, AND MAY INCLUDE A WIDE RANGE OF COMPLEMENTARY STRATEGIES INCLUDING YOGA.YOGA IS A MIND-BODY PRACTICE THAT ORIGINATED IN INDIA, AND WHICH HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY WIDESPREAD IN THE WESTERN WORLD. RECENT EVIDENCE HIGHLIGHTS THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA FOR PEOPLE WITH A RANGE OF PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH CONDITIONS. A RECENT NON-COCHRANE SYSTEMATIC REVIEW CONCLUDED THAT YOGA CAN BE USED AS SELF-ADMINISTERED PRACTICE IN STROKE REHABILITATION. OBJECTIVES: TO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA, AS A STROKE REHABILITATION INTERVENTION, ON RECOVERY OF FUNCTION AND QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL). SEARCH METHODS: WE SEARCHED THE COCHRANE STROKE GROUP TRIALS REGISTER (LAST SEARCHED JULY 2017), COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS (CENTRAL) (LAST SEARCHED JULY 2017), MEDLINE (TO JULY 2017), EMBASE (TO JULY 2017), CINAHL (TO JULY 2017), AMED (TO JULY 2017), PSYCINFO (TO JULY 2017), LILACS (TO JULY 2017), SCIELO (TO JULY 2017), INDMED (TO JULY 2017), OTSEEKER (TO JULY 2017) AND PEDRO (TO JULY 2017). WE ALSO SEARCHED FOUR TRIALS REGISTERS, AND ONE CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS DATABASE. WE SCREENED REFERENCE LISTS OF RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS AND CONTACTED AUTHORS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. SELECTION CRITERIA: WE INCLUDED RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) THAT COMPARED YOGA WITH A WAITING-LIST CONTROL OR NO INTERVENTION CONTROL IN STROKE SURVIVORS. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: TWO REVIEW AUTHORS INDEPENDENTLY EXTRACTED DATA FROM THE INCLUDED STUDIES. WE PERFORMED ALL ANALYSES USING REVIEW MANAGER (REVMAN). ONE REVIEW AUTHOR ENTERED THE DATA INTO REVMAN; ANOTHER CHECKED THE ENTRIES. WE DISCUSSED DISAGREEMENTS WITH A THIRD REVIEW AUTHOR UNTIL CONSENSUS WAS REACHED. WE USED THE COCHRANE 'RISK OF BIAS' TOOL. WHERE WE CONSIDERED STUDIES TO BE SUFFICIENTLY SIMILAR, WE CONDUCTED A META-ANALYSIS BY POOLING THE APPROPRIATE DATA. FOR OUTCOMES FOR WHICH IT WAS INAPPROPRIATE OR IMPOSSIBLE TO POOL QUANTITATIVELY, WE CONDUCTED A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS AND PROVIDED A NARRATIVE SUMMARY. MAIN RESULTS: WE INCLUDED TWO RCTS INVOLVING 72 PARTICIPANTS. SIXTY-NINE PARTICIPANTS WERE INCLUDED IN ONE META-ANALYSIS (BALANCE). BOTH TRIALS ASSESSED QOL, ALONG WITH SECONDARY OUTCOMES MEASURES RELATING TO MOVEMENT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL OUTCOMES; ONE ALSO MEASURED DISABILITY.IN ONE STUDY THE STROKE IMPACT SCALE WAS USED TO MEASURE QOL ACROSS SIX DOMAINS, AT BASELINE AND POST-INTERVENTION. THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON FIVE DOMAINS (PHYSICAL, EMOTION, COMMUNICATION, SOCIAL PARTICIPATION, STROKE RECOVERY) WAS NOT SIGNIFICANT; HOWEVER, THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON THE MEMORY DOMAIN WAS SIGNIFICANT (MEAN DIFFERENCE (MD) 15.30, 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI) 1.29 TO 29.31, P = 0.03), THE EVIDENCE FOR THIS FINDING WAS VERY LOW GRADE. IN THE SECOND STUDY, QOL WAS ASSESSED USING THE STROKE-SPECIFC QOL SCALE; NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECT WAS FOUND.SECONDARY OUTCOMES INCLUDED MOVEMENT, STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES, PAIN, AND DISABILITY.BALANCE WAS MEASURED IN BOTH STUDIES USING THE BERG BALANCE SCALE; THE EFFECT OF INTERVENTION WAS NOT SIGNIFICANT (MD 2.38, 95% CI -1.41 TO 6.17, P = 0.22). SENSITITIVY ANALYSIS DID NOT ALTER THE DIRECTION OF EFFECT. ONE STUDY MEASURED BALANCE SELF-EFFICACY, USING THE ACTIVITIES-SPECIFIC BALANCE CONFIDENCE SCALE (MD 10.60, 95% CI -7.08,= TO 28.28, P = 0.24); THE EFFECT OF INTERVENTION WAS NOT SIGNIFICANT; THE EVIDENCE FOR THIS FINDING WAS VERY LOW GRADE.ONE STUDY MEASURED GAIT USING THE COMFORTABLE SPEED GAIT TEST (MD 1.32, 95% CI -1.35 TO 3.99, P = 0.33), AND MOTOR FUNCTION USING THE MOTOR ASSESSMENT SCALE (MD -4.00, 95% CI -12.42 TO 4.42, P = 0.35); NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECT WAS FOUND BASED ON VERY LOW-GRADE EVIDENCE.ONE STUDY MEASURED DISABILITY USING THE MODIFIED RANKIN SCALE (MRS) BUT REPORTED ONLY WHETHER PARTICIPANTS WERE INDEPENDENT OR DEPENDENT. NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECT WAS FOUND: (ODDS RATIO (OR) 2.08, 95% CI 0.50 TO 8.60, P = 0.31); THE EVIDENCE FOR THIS FINDING WAS VERY LOW GRADE.ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION WERE MEASURED IN ONE STUDY. THREE MEASURES WERE USED: THE GERIATRIC DEPRESSION SCALE-SHORT FORM (GCDS15), AND TWO FORMS OF STATE TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY (STAI, FORM Y) TO MEASURE STATE ANXIETY (I.E. ANXIETY EXPERIENCED IN RESPONSE TO STRESSFUL SITUATIONS) AND TRAIT ANXIETY (I.E. ANXIETY ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS). NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECT WAS FOUND FOR DEPRESSION (GDS15, MD -2.10, 95% CI -4.70 TO 0.50, P = 0.11) OR FOR TRAIT ANXIETY (STAI-Y2, MD -6.70, 95% CI -15.35 TO 1.95, P = 0.13), BASED ON VERY LOW-GRADE EVIDENCE. HOWEVER, A SIGNIFICANT EFFECT WAS FOUND FOR STATE ANXIETY: STAI-Y1 (MD -8.40, 95% CI -16.74 TO -0.06, P = 0.05); THE EVIDENCE FOR THIS FINDING WAS VERY LOW GRADE.NO ADVERSE EVENTS WERE REPORTED.QUALITY OF THE EVIDENCEWE ASSESSED THE QUALITY OF THE EVIDENCE USING GRADE. OVERALL, THE QUALITY OF THE EVIDENCE WAS VERY LOW, DUE TO THE SMALL NUMBER OF TRIALS INCLUDED IN THE REVIEW BOTH OF WHICH WERE JUDGED TO BE AT HIGH RISK OF BIAS, PARTICULARLY IN RELATION TO INCOMPLETENESS OF DATA AND SELECTIVE REPORTING, AND ESPECIALLY REGARDING THE REPRESENTATIVE NATURE OF THE SAMPLE IN ONE STUDY. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: YOGA HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR BEING INCLUDED AS PART OF PATIENT-CENTRED STROKE REHABILITATION. HOWEVER, THIS REVIEW HAS IDENTIFIED INSUFFICIENT INFORMATION TO CONFIRM OR REFUTE THE EFFECTIVENESS OR SAFETY OF YOGA AS A STROKE REHABILITATION TREATMENT. FURTHER LARGE-SCALE METHODOLOGICALLY ROBUST TRIALS ARE REQUIRED TO ESTABLISH THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA AS A STROKE REHABILITATION TREATMENT. 2017 20 2607 48 YOGA FOR PRENATAL DEPRESSION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND: PRENATAL DEPRESSION CAN NEGATIVELY AFFECT THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH OF BOTH MOTHER AND FETUS. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA AS AN INTERVENTION IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PRENATAL DEPRESSION. METHODS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) WAS CONDUCTED BY SEARCHING PUBMED, EMBASE, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY AND PSYCINFO FROM ALL RETRIEVED ARTICLES DESCRIBING SUCH TRIALS UP TO JULY 2014. RESULTS: SIX RCTS WERE IDENTIFIED IN THE SYSTEMATIC SEARCH. THE SAMPLE CONSISTED OF 375 PREGNANT WOMEN, MOST OF WHOM WERE BETWEEN 20 AND 40 YEARS OF AGE. THE DIAGNOSES OF DEPRESSION WERE DETERMINED BY THEIR SCORES ON STRUCTURED CLINICAL INTERVIEW FOR DSM-IV AND THE CENTER FOR EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES DEPRESSION SCALE. WHEN COMPARED WITH COMPARISON GROUPS (E.G., STANDARD PRENATAL CARE, STANDARD ANTENATAL EXERCISES, SOCIAL SUPPORT, ETC.), THE LEVEL OF DEPRESSION STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED IN YOGA GROUPS (STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE [SMD], -0.59; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI], -0.94 TO -0.25; P = 0.0007). ONE SUBGROUP ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT BOTH THE LEVELS OF DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN PRENATALLY DEPRESSED WOMEN (SMD, -0.46; CI, -0.90 TO -0.03; P = 0.04) AND NON-DEPRESSED WOMEN (SMD, -0.87; CI, -1.22 TO -0.52; P < 0.00001) WERE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN YOGA GROUP THAN THAT IN CONTROL GROUP. THERE WERE TWO KINDS OF YOGA: THE PHYSICAL-EXERCISE-BASED YOGA AND INTEGRATED YOGA, WHICH, BESIDES PHYSICAL EXERCISES, INCLUDED PRANAYAMA, MEDITATION OR DEEP RELAXATION. THEREFORE, THE OTHER SUBGROUP ANALYSIS WAS CONDUCTED TO ESTIMATE EFFECTS OF THE TWO KINDS OF YOGA ON PRENATAL DEPRESSION. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT THE LEVEL OF DEPRESSION WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED IN THE INTEGRATED YOGA GROUP (SMD, -0.79; CI, -1.07 TO -0.51; P < 0.00001) BUT NOT SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED IN PHYSICAL-EXERCISE-BASED YOGA GROUP (SMD, -0.41; CI, -1.01 TO -0.18; P = 0.17). CONCLUSIONS: PRENATAL YOGA INTERVENTION IN PREGNANT WOMEN MAY BE EFFECTIVE IN PARTLY REDUCING DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS. 2015