1 2187 182 THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH: A RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: UNIVERSITIES AROUND THE WORLD ARE FACING AN EPIDEMIC OF MENTAL DISTRESS AMONG THEIR STUDENTS. THE PROBLEM IS TRULY A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE, AFFECTING MANY AND WITH SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES. THE GLOBAL BURDEN OF DISEASE-AGENDA CALLS FOR EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS WITH LASTING EFFECTS THAT HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO IMPROVE THE MENTAL HEALTH OF YOUNG ADULTS. IN THIS STUDY WE AIMED TO DETERMINE WHETHER YOGA, A POPULAR AND WIDELY AVAILABLE MIND-BODY PRACTICE, CAN IMPROVE STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH. METHODS: WE PERFORMED A RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL WITH 202 HEALTHY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN THE OSLO AREA. THE PARTICIPANTS WERE ASSIGNED TO A YOGA GROUP OR WAITLIST CONTROL GROUP IN A 1:1 RATIO BY A SIMPLE ONLINE RANDOMISATION PROGRAM. THE INTERVENTION GROUP WAS OFFERED 24 YOGA SESSIONS OVER 12 WEEKS. MEASUREMENTS WERE TAKEN AT WEEK 0 (BASELINE), WEEK 12 (POST-INTERVENTION), AND WEEK 24 (FOLLOW-UP). THE PRIMARY OUTCOME WAS PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS ASSESSED BY THE HSCL-25 QUESTIONNAIRE. ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED BASED ON THE INTENTION TO TREAT-PRINCIPLE. RESULTS: BETWEEN 24 JANUARY 2017, AND 27 AUGUST 2017, WE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED 202 STUDENTS TO A YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP (N = 100), OR WAITLIST CONTROL GROUP (N = 102). COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP, THE YOGA PARTICIPANTS DEMONSTRATED A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN DISTRESS SYMPTOMS BOTH AT POST-INTERVENTION (ADJUSTED DIFFERENCE IN THE MEAN CHANGE -0.15, 95% CI -0.26 TO -0.03, P = 0.0110) AND FOLLOW-UP (ADJUSTED DIFFERENCE IN THE MEAN CHANGE -0.18, 95% CI -0.29 TO -0.06, P = 0.0025). SLEEP QUALITY ALSO IMPROVED AT POST-INTERVENTION AND FOLLOW-UP. NO ADVERSE EVENTS WERE REPORTED. CONCLUSIONS: OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT YOGA HAS A MODERATELY LARGE AND LASTING EFFECT, AT LEAST FOR SOME MONTHS, REDUCING SYMPTOMS OF DISTRESS AND IMPROVING SLEEP QUALITY AMONG STUDENTS. FURTHER RESEARCH SHOULD SEEK WAYS TO ENHANCE THE EFFECT, ASSESS AN EVEN LONGER FOLLOW-UP PERIOD, INCLUDE ACTIVE CONTROL GROUPS, AND CONSIDER PERFORMING SIMILAR STUDIES IN OTHER CULTURAL SETTINGS.TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV IDENTIFIER: NCT04258540. 2020 2 2673 42 YOGA IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE: A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY TO ACCESS THE EFFECTS ON QUALITY OF LIFE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS. BACKGROUND: AND PURPOSE: YOGA IS GROWING IN POPULARITY, BUT ITS BENEFITS AND INTEGRATION INTO PRIMARY CARE REMAIN UNCERTAIN. HERE, WE DETERMINE YOGA EFFECTS ON QUALITY OF LIFE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS, AND EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY OF INTRODUCING YOGA AT PRIMARY CARE LEVEL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THIS IS A PROSPECTIVE, LONGITUDINAL, QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY, WITH AN INTERVENTION (N=49) AND A CONTROL GROUP (N=37). YOGA GROUP UNDERWENT 24-WEEKS PROGRAM OF ONE-HOUR SESSIONS. OUR PRIMARY ENDPOINT WAS QUALITY OF LIFE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS, AS WELL AS SATISFACTION LEVEL AND ADHERENCE RATE. RESULTS: PARTICIPANTS REPORTED A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN ALL DOMAINS OF QUALITY OF LIFE AND A REDUCTION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS. LINEAR REGRESSION ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT YOGA SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVES PSYCHOLOGICAL QUALITY OF LIFE (P=0.046). CONCLUSION: YOGA IN PRIMARY CARE IS FEASIBLE, SAFE AND HAS A SATISFACTORY ADHERENCE, AS WELL AS A POSITIVE EFFECT ON PSYCHOLOGICAL QUALITY OF LIFE OF PARTICIPANTS. 2019 3 1267 42 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 4 1380 37 IMPACT OF LONG TERM YOGA PRACTICE ON SLEEP QUALITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE ELDERLY. BACKGROUND: SLEEP DISTURBANCES AND DECLINE IN THE PHYSICAL FUNCTIONALITY ARE COMMON CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH AGING. PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF SLEEP DISTURBANCES CAN BE ASSOCIATED WITH VARIOUS ADVERSE EFFECTS. SHORT TERM TRIALS OF YOGA ON SLEEP HAVE SHOWN BENEFICIAL EFFECTS. OBJECTIVES: TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF LONG-TERM YOGA EXERCISES ON SLEEP QUALITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) IN THE ELDERLY. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THIS WAS A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN WHICH DATA WERE COLLECTED FROM ELDERLY PEOPLE AGED 60 YEARS OR MORE LIVING IN NAGPUR CITY. WE EMPLOYED TWO TYPES OF SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES: PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INDEX (PSQI) AND QOL LEIDEN-PADUA (LEIPAD) QUESTIONNAIRE. A TOTAL OF 65 ELDERLY MEN AND WOMEN WHO SIGNED AN INFORMED CONSENT AND COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRES WERE INCLUDED IN THE STUDY. SLEEP QUALITY SCORE PSQI AND QOL (LEIPAD QUESTIONNAIRE) SCORE OF THE STUDY GROUP WERE EVALUATED AND COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP USING MANN-WHITNEY U TEST. RESULTS: TOTAL PSQI SCORE IN YOGA GROUP WAS LOWER THAN THAT OF THE CONTROL GROUP. ALSO VARIOUS QOL SCORES OF THE YOGA GROUPS WERE HIGHER THAN THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSION: ADDITION OF REGULAR YOGA EXERCISES IN THE DAILY ROUTINE OF ELDERLY PEOPLE CAN HELP TO ACHIEVE GOOD SLEEP QUALITY AS WELL AS IMPROVE THE QOL. 2013 5 290 50 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 6 1242 48 FEASIBILITY OF A YOGA INTERVENTION TO DECREASE PAIN IN OLDER WOMEN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED PILOT STUDY. BACKGROUND: A SIGNIFICANT PROPORTION OF OLDER WOMEN SUFFER FROM CHRONIC PAIN, WHICH CAN DECREASE QUALITY OF LIFE. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PILOT RANDOMIZED STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY OF A FLOW-RESTORATIVE YOGA INTERVENTION DESIGNED TO DECREASE PAIN AND RELATED OUTCOMES AMONG WOMEN AGED 60 OR OLDER. METHODS: FLOW-RESTORATIVE YOGA CLASSES WERE HELD TWICE WEEKLY FOR 1 HOUR AND LED BY A CERTIFIED YOGA INSTRUCTOR. PARTICIPANTS RANDOMIZED TO THE INTERVENTION GROUP ATTENDED THE YOGA CLASSES FOR 12 WEEKS AND RECEIVED SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS FOR AT-HOME PRACTICE. THOSE RANDOMIZED TO THE CONTROL GROUP WERE ASKED TO MAINTAIN THEIR NORMAL DAILY ROUTINE. FEASIBILITY WAS EVALUATED USING RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION RATES, CLASS AND HOME PRACTICE ADHERENCE RATES, AND PARTICIPANT SATISFACTION SURVEYS. OUTCOME MEASURES (SELF-REPORTED PAIN, INFLAMMATORY MARKERS, FUNCTIONAL FITNESS, QUALITY OF LIFE, RESILIENCE, AND SELF-REPORTED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY) WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE AND POST-INTERVENTION. PAIRED T-TESTS OR WILCOXON SIGNED-RANK TESTS WERE USED TO EXAMINE CHANGES IN OUTCOME MEASURES WITHIN TREATMENT GROUPS. RESULTS: THIRTY-EIGHT PARTICIPANTS WERE RECRUITED AND RANDOMIZED. PARTICIPANTS WERE PRIMARILY WHITE, COLLEGE-EDUCATED, AND HIGHER FUNCTIONING, DESPITE EXPERIENCING VARIOUS FORMS OF CHRONIC PAIN. ATTENDANCE AND RETENTION RATES WERE HIGH (91 AND 97%, RESPECTIVELY) AND THE MAJORITY OF PARTICIPANTS WERE SATISFIED WITH THE YOGA PROGRAM (89%) AND WOULD RECOMMEND IT TO OTHERS (87%). INTERVENTION PARTICIPANTS ALSO EXPERIENCED REDUCTIONS IN PAIN INTERFERENCE AND IMPROVEMENTS IN ENERGY AND SOCIAL FUNCTIONING. CONCLUSIONS: THIS PILOT STUDY PROVIDES ESSENTIAL DATA TO INFORM A FULL SCALE RANDOMIZED TRIAL OF FLOW-RESTORATIVE YOGA FOR OLDER WOMEN WITH CHRONIC PAIN. FUTURE STUDIES SHOULD EMPHASIZE STRATEGIES TO RECRUIT A MORE DIVERSE STUDY POPULATION, PARTICULARLY OLDER WOMEN AT HIGHER RISK OF DISABILITY AND FUNCTIONAL DECLINE. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV , NCT03790098 . REGISTERED 31 DECEMBER 2018 - RETROSPECTIVELY REGISTERED. 2020 7 2613 42 YOGA FOR RISK REDUCTION OF METABOLIC SYNDROME: PATIENT-REPORTED OUTCOMES FROM A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED PILOT STUDY. LIFESTYLE CHANGE IS RECOMMENDED AS TREATMENT FOR ADULTS AT RISK FOR METABOLIC SYNDROME (METS), ALTHOUGH ADOPTION OF NEW BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS IS LIMITED. IN ADDITION, MOST EXISTING LIFESTYLE INTERVENTIONS DO NOT ADDRESS PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS OR QUALITY OF LIFE, BOTH OF WHICH IMPACT THE BURDEN OF METS. YOGA, A FORM OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY THAT INCORPORATES PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPONENTS (E.G., MAINTAINING ATTENTION, RELAXATION), IS A PROMISING INTERVENTION FOR IMPROVING THE BURDEN OF METS. THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL ASSESSED THE FEASIBILITY AND PRELIMINARY EFFICACY OF A 12-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM COUPLED WITH AN EVIDENCE-BASED HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAM (HED) COMPARED TO HED ALONE. A SECONDARY, EXPLORATORY AIM EXAMINED PERCEIVED STRESS, QUALITY OF LIFE, AND RELATED PSYCHOLOGICAL OUTCOMES (MINDFULNESS, PERCEIVED HEALTH COMPETENCE, AND MOOD). SIXTY-SEVEN ADULTS AT RISK FOR METS ENROLLED (MEAN AGE [SD]: 58 [10] YEARS; 50% MALE; 79% NON-HISPANIC WHITE). PRELIMINARY RESULTS REVEALED SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER IMPROVEMENTS IN TWO QUALITY OF LIFE DOMAINS (ROLE-PHYSICAL AND GENERAL HEALTH PERCEPTIONS) IN THE HED PLUS YOGA GROUP VERSUS HED ALONE (PS < 0.05). THIS IS THE FIRST STUDY THAT IMPLEMENTED LIFESTYLE EDUCATION ALONG WITH YOGA TO EVALUATE THE POTENTIAL UNIQUE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PARTICIPANTS AT RISK FOR METS. A LARGER CLINICAL TRIAL IS WARRANTED TO FURTHER INVESTIGATE THESE PROMISING PATIENT-REPORTED OUTCOMES. 2016 8 2579 39 YOGA FOR HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN ADULT CANCER: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED FEASIBILITY STUDY. AN INCREASE IN PATIENT-LED UPTAKE OF COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES IN ADULT CANCER HAS LED TO A NEED FOR MORE RIGOROUS STUDY OF SUCH INTERVENTIONS AND THEIR OUTCOMES. THIS STUDY THEREFORE AIMED TO EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY AND ACCEPTABILITY OF A YOGA INTERVENTION IN MEN AND WOMEN RECEIVING CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT FOR A CANCER DIAGNOSIS. PROSPECTIVE, MIXED METHODS FEASIBILITY TRIAL ALLOCATED PARTICIPANTS TO RECEIVE ONE OF THREE YOGA INTERVENTIONS OVER A FOUR-WEEK STUDY PERIOD. DATA COLLECTION WAS COMPLETED THROUGH ONLINE SURVEY OF QOL-CA/CS AND CUSTOMIZED SURVEYS. FIFTEEN PARTICIPANTS WERE INCLUDED (11 FEMALE) UNDERGOING TREATMENT FOR BREAST, PROSTATE, COLORECTAL, BRAIN, AND BLOOD AND LUNG CANCER. TWO PARTICIPANTS DROPPED OUT AND COMPLETE QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE DATA SETS WERE COLLECTED FROM 12 PARTICIPANTS AND FOUR YOGA INSTRUCTORS. OTHER OUTCOME MEASURES INCLUDED IMPLEMENTATION COSTS PATIENT-REPORTED PREFERENCES FOR YOGA INTERVENTION AND CHANGES IN QOL-CA/CS. THREE TYPES OF YOGA INTERVENTION WERE SAFELY ADMINISTERED IN ADULT CANCER. MIXED METHODS, COST-EFFICIENCY, QOL-CA/CS, AND EVIDENCE-BASED DESIGN OF YOGA INTERVENTION HAVE BEEN USED TO ESTABLISH FEASIBILITY AND PATIENT-PREFERENCES FOR YOGA DELIVERY IN ADULT CANER. RESULTS SUGGEST THAT, WITH SOME METHODOLOGICAL IMPROVEMENTS, A LARGE-SCALE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL IS WARRANTED TO TEST THE EFFICACY OF YOGA FOR MALE AND FEMALE CANCER PATIENTS. THIS TRIAL IS REGISTERED WITH CLINICALTRIALS.GOV NCT02309112. 2015 9 459 52 CHANGES IN PAIN INTENSITY AND HEALTH RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE WITH IYENGAR YOGA IN NONSPECIFIC CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. BACKGROUND: NONSPECIFIC CHRONIC LOW BACK (NCLBP) PAIN IS PREVALENT AMONG ADULT POPULATION AND OFTEN LEADS TO FUNCTIONAL LIMITATIONS, PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS, LOWER QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL), AND HIGHER HEALTHCARE COSTS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE EFFICACY OF IYENGAR YOGA THERAPY ON PAIN INTENSITY AND HEALTH RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQOL) WITH NCLBP. AIM OF THE STUDY: TO COMPARE THE EFFECT OF IYENGAR YOGA THERAPY AND CONVENTIONAL EXERCISE THERAPY ON PAIN INTENSITY AND HRQOL IN NONSPECIFIC CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN. MATERIALS AND METHODS: EXPERIMENTAL STUDY WITH RANDOM SAMPLING TECHNIQUE. SUBJECTS/INTERVENTION: SIXTY SUBJECTS WHO FULFILLED THE SELECTION CRITERIA WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO IYENGAR YOGA (YOGA GROUP, N = 30) AND CONTROL GROUP (EXERCISE GROUP, N = 30). PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED LOW BACK PAIN EVALUATION FORM AND HRQOL-4 QUESTIONNAIRE BEFORE THEIR INTERVENTION AND AGAIN 4 WEEKS AND 6 MONTH LATER. YOGA GROUP UNDERWENT 29 YOGIC POSTURES TRAINING AND EXERCISE GROUP HAD UNDERGONE GENERAL EXERCISE PROGRAM FOR 4 WEEKS. STATISTICS: REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (ANOVA) WAS USED TO ANALYZE GROUP DIFFERENCES OVER TIME, WHILE CONTROLLING FOR BASELINE DIFFERENCES. RESULTS: PATIENTS IN BOTH GROUPS EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN PAIN AND IMPROVEMENT IN HRQOL. IN VISUAL ANALOGUE SCALE (VAS) YOGA GROUP SHOWED REDUCTION OF 72.81% (P = 0.001) AS COMPARED TO EXERCISE GROUP 42.50% (P = 0.001). IN HRQOL, YOGA GROUP SHOWED REDUCTION OF 86.99% (P = 0.001) AS COMPARED TO EXERCISE GROUP 67.66% (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT IYENGAR YOGA PROVIDES BETTER IMPROVEMENT IN PAIN REDUCTION AND IMPROVEMENT IN HRQOL IN NONSPECIFIC CHRONIC BACK PAIN THAN GENERAL EXERCISE. 2014 10 1585 44 MEDICAL YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH STRESS-RELATED SYMPTOMS AND DIAGNOSES IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. AN INCREASING NUMBER OF PATIENTS ARE SUFFERING FROM STRESS-RELATED SYMPTOMS AND DIAGNOSES. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE MEDICAL YOGA TREATMENT IN PATIENTS WITH STRESS-RELATED SYMPTOMS AND DIAGNOSES IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE. A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY WAS PERFORMED AT A PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CENTRE IN SWEDEN FROM MARCH TO JUNE, 2011. PATIENTS WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED TO A CONTROL GROUP RECEIVING STANDARD CARE OR A YOGA GROUP TREATED WITH MEDICAL YOGA FOR 1 HOUR, ONCE A WEEK, OVER A 12-WEEK PERIOD IN ADDITION TO THE STANDARD CARE. A TOTAL OF 37 MEN AND WOMEN, MEAN AGE OF 53 +/- 12 YEARS WERE INCLUDED. GENERAL STRESS LEVEL (MEASURED USING PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE (PSS)), BURNOUT (SHIROM-MELAMED BURNOUT QUESTIONNAIRE (SMBQ)), ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION (HOSPITAL ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCALE (HADS)), INSOMNIA SEVERITY (INSOMNIA SEVERITY INDEX (ISI)), PAIN (VISUAL ANALOGUE SCALE (VAS)), AND OVERALL HEALTH STATUS (EURO QUALITY OF LIFE VAS (EQ-VAS)) WERE MEASURED BEFORE AND AFTER 12 WEEKS. PATIENTS ASSIGNED TO THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER IMPROVEMENTS ON MEASURES OF GENERAL STRESS LEVEL (P < 0.000), ANXIETY (P < 0.019), AND OVERALL HEALTH STATUS (P < 0.018) COMPARED TO CONTROLS. TREATMENT WITH MEDICAL YOGA IS EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING LEVELS OF STRESS AND ANXIETY IN PATIENTS WITH STRESS-RELATED SYMPTOMS IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE. 2013 11 893 32 EFFECT OF YOGA-BASED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON PERCEIVED STRESS, ANXIETY, AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN YOUNG ADULTS. PURPOSE: THIS STUDY, CONDUCTED AT A PUBLIC UNIVERSITY IN TURKEY, SOUGHT TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA-BASED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON PERCEIVED STRESS, ANXIETY, AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN YOUNG ADULTS. DESIGN AND METHODS: THIS STUDY WAS PLANNED AS A SEMIEXPERIMENTAL NONRANDOMIZED STUDY WITH A CONTROL GROUP. FINDINGS: YOGA-BASED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY DECREASED THE PERCEIVED STRESS AND STATE ANXIETY LEVELS, BUT HAD NO EFFECT ON TRAIT ANXIETY LEVELS AND QUALITY OF LIFE. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOGA-BASED TREATMENT CAN BE INCLUDED IN NURSING INTERVENTIONS FOR REDUCING STRESS AND ANXIETY LEVELS IN YOUNG ADULTS. 2020 12 719 45 EFFECT OF IYENGAR YOGA ON MENTAL HEALTH OF INCARCERATED WOMEN: A FEASIBILITY STUDY. BACKGROUND: INCARCERATED WOMEN SHARE A DISPROPORTIONATE BURDEN OF MENTAL ILLNESS. ALTHOUGH PSYCHOTROPIC MEDICATIONS ARE AVAILABLE TO WOMEN IN PRISON, ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT MODALITIES, SUCH AS IYENGAR YOGA, MAY INCREASE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING. OBJECTIVES: THE PURPOSES OF THIS STUDY WERE (A) TO ADDRESS THE FEASIBILITY OF PROVIDING A GENDER-RESPONSIVE EXERCISE INTERVENTION WITHIN A CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION AND (B) TO OBSERVE THE EFFECT OF A GROUP-FORMAT IYENGAR YOGA PROGRAM THAT MET TWO SESSIONS A WEEK FOR 12 WEEKS ON LEVELS OF DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS, ANXIETY SYMPTOMS, AND PERCEIVED STRESS AMONG INCARCERATED WOMEN. METHODS: A REPEATED MEASURES DESIGN, IN WHICH EACH PARTICIPANT SERVED AS HER OWN CONTROL, WAS USED. PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED THREE SELF-ADMINISTERED INSTRUMENTS: THE BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY, THE BECK ANXIETY INVENTORY, AND THE PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE BEFORE TREATMENT (BASELINE) AND DURING TREATMENT (WEEKS 4, 8, AND 12). LINEAR MIXED EFFECTS MODELS WERE USED TO EXAMINE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN MENTAL HEALTH MEASURES OVER TIME, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ALL AVAILABLE DATA. RESULTS: ALTHOUGH 21 WOMEN INITIALLY PARTICIPATED IN THE INTERVENTION, 6 WOMEN COMPLETED THE 12-WEEK INTERVENTION. A SIGNIFICANT LINEAR DECREASE WAS DEMONSTRATED IN SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION OVER TIME, WITH MEAN VALUES CHANGING FROM 24.90 AT BASELINE TO 5.67 AT WEEK 12. THERE WAS A MARGINALLY SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN ANXIETY OVER TIME (12.00 AT BASELINE TO 7.33 AT WEEK 12) AND A NONLINEAR CHANGE IN STRESS OVER TIME, WITH DECREASES FROM BASELINE TO WEEK 4 AND SUBSEQUENT INCREASES TO WEEK 12. DISCUSSION: WOMEN WHO PARTICIPATED IN THIS PROGRAM EXPERIENCED FEWER SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY OVER TIME. FINDINGS FROM THIS STUDY MAY BE USED TO IMPROVE FUTURE INTERVENTIONS FOCUSING ON THE HEALTH OUTCOMES OF INCARCERATED WOMEN. 2010 13 293 49 AEROBIC EXERCISE AND YOGA IMPROVE NEUROCOGNITIVE FUNCTION IN WOMEN WITH EARLY PSYCHOSIS. IMPAIRMENTS OF ATTENTION AND MEMORY ARE EVIDENT IN EARLY PSYCHOSIS, AND ARE ASSOCIATED WITH FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY. IN A GROUP OF STABLE, MEDICATED WOMEN PATIENTS, WE AIMED TO DETERMINE WHETHER PARTICIPATING IN AEROBIC EXERCISE OR YOGA IMPROVED COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENTS AND CLINICAL SYMPTOMS. A TOTAL OF 140 FEMALE PATIENTS WERE RECRUITED, AND 124 RECEIVED THE ALLOCATED INTERVENTION IN A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY OF 12 WEEKS OF YOGA OR AEROBIC EXERCISE COMPARED WITH A WAITLIST GROUP. THE PRIMARY OUTCOMES WERE COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS INCLUDING MEMORY AND ATTENTION. SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES WERE THE SEVERITY OF PSYCHOTIC AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, AND HIPPOCAMPAL VOLUME. DATA FROM 124 PATIENTS WERE INCLUDED IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS BASED ON THE INTENTION-TO-TREAT PRINCIPLE. BOTH YOGA AND AEROBIC EXERCISE GROUPS DEMONSTRATED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN WORKING MEMORY (P<0.01) WITH MODERATE TO LARGE EFFECT SIZES COMPARED WITH THE WAITLIST CONTROL GROUP. THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED ADDITIONAL BENEFITS IN VERBAL ACQUISITION (P<0.01) AND ATTENTION (P=0.01). BOTH TYPES OF EXERCISE IMPROVED OVERALL AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS (ALL P0.01) AFTER 12 WEEKS. SMALL INCREASES IN HIPPOCAMPAL VOLUME WERE OBSERVED IN THE AEROBIC EXERCISE GROUP COMPARED WITH WAITLIST (P=0.01). BOTH TYPES OF EXERCISE IMPROVED WORKING MEMORY IN EARLY PSYCHOSIS PATIENTS, WITH YOGA HAVING A LARGER EFFECT ON VERBAL ACQUISITION AND ATTENTION THAN AEROBIC EXERCISE. THE APPLICATION OF YOGA AND AEROBIC EXERCISE AS ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENTS FOR EARLY PSYCHOSIS MERITS SERIOUS CONSIDERATION. THIS STUDY WAS SUPPORTED BY THE SMALL RESEARCH FUNDING OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG (201007176229), AND RGC FUNDING (C00240/762412) BY THE AUTHORITY OF RESEARCH, HONG KONG. 2015 14 2871 41 YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUE FACILITATES SUSTAINED ATTENTION IN PATIENTS WITH LOW BACK PAIN: A PILOT STUDY. CONTEXT: THE EXPERIENCE OF PAIN STRONGLY INFLUENCES SUSTAINED ATTENTION, WHICH IS IMPORTANT FOR NEUROCOGNITIVE PERFORMANCE. YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES MAY BE EFFECTIVE IN IMPROVING SUSTAINED ATTENTION BY ATTENUATING PAIN IN PATIENTS WITH LOW BACK PAIN. HENCE, WE AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF A YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUE ON SUSTAINED ATTENTION AND SELF-REPORTED PAIN DISABILITY IN PATIENTS WITH LOW BACK PAIN. METHODS: A TOTAL OF 22 MEN AGED 30 TO 50 YEARS WITH LOW BACK PAIN WERE RECRUITED FOR THE STUDY. THEY WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER THE YOGA (N = 11) OR CONTROL (N = 11) GROUPS. THE YOGA GROUP PRACTICED A YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUE (YBRT) 1 HOUR A DAY FOR 4 WEEKS AND THE CONTROL GROUP MAINTAINED THEIR USUAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY REGIMEN. ASSESSMENTS INCLUDED THE SUSTAINED ATTENTION TO RESPONSE TASK (SART) AND THE OSWESTRY LOW BACK PAIN DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE (OLBPDQ) MEASURED BEFORE AND AFTER THE 4-WEEK INTERVENTION. RESULTS: THE STUDY SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN ALL SELF-REPORTED OLBPDQ DOMAINS AND IMPROVEMENT IN SUSTAINED ATTENTION IN A BEFORE AND AFTER COMPARISON 4 WEEKS FOLLOWING THE YOGA INTERVENTION. PEARSON'S CORRELATION ALSO SHOWED A POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN SUSTAINED ATTENTION AND PAIN REDUCTION FOLLOWING THE YOGA INTERVENTION. CONCLUSION: THE FINDINGS INDICATE THAT YOGA PRACTICE REDUCES PAIN AND SIMULTANEOUSLY IMPROVES INFORMATION PROCESSING SPEED WITH IMPULSE CONTROL DURING THE PERFORMANCE OF A SUSTAINED ATTENTION TASK. 2020 15 1939 54 ROLE OF YOGA THERAPY IN IMPROVING DIGESTIVE HEALTH AND QUALITY OF SLEEP IN AN ELDERLY POPULATION: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. INTRODUCTION: CONSTIPATION AND SLEEP DISTURBANCES COMMONLY AFFECT ELDERLY POPULATION RESULTS IN COMPROMISED PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH. MIND-BODY INTERVENTIONS LIKE YOGA NOT ONLY ADDRESS THE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH BUT ALSO PROMOTE HEALTHY AGEING. THIS STUDY EVALUATES THE EFFECT OF 3 MONTHS YOGA INTERVENTION ON THE SLEEP AND CONSTIPATION RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) AMONG THE ELDERLY. MATERIALS AND METHODS: NINETY SIX PARTICIPANTS AGED BETWEEN 60 AND 75 WHO DID NOT HAD ANY HISTORY OF YOGA PRACTICE FOR PAST 1 YEAR AND HAVING A ZUBROD SCORE OF 0-2 WERE RANDOMIZED IN TO YOGA (N = 48) OR WAITLISTED CONTROL (N = 48). THE YOGA GROUP RECEIVED YOGA INTERVENTIONS AT A FREQUENCY OF 3 SESSIONS PER WEEK FOR 3 MONTHS. PITTSBURG SLEEP QUALITY INDEX (PSQI) AND PATIENT ASSESSMENT OF CONSTIPATION QOL (PAC-QOL) WERE USED TO ASSESS THE IMPROVEMENT. INTENTION TO TREAT ANALYSIS METHOD WAS USED TO INCLUDE THE DROP-OUT PARTICIPANTS. RESULTS: EIGHTY ONE PARTICIPANTS (YOGA = 48, WAITLISTED CONTROL = 33) COMPLETED THE STUDY. WILCOXON'S SIGN RANK TEST HAS SHOWN THAT THE YOGA GROUP HAD STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN MOST OF THE PARAMETERS IN PSQI AND PAC-QOL (P .05) OR ANXIETY (F = 2.7, P > .05). CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: THE 8-WEEK YOGA EXERCISE PROGRAM DEVELOPED IN THIS STUDY EFFECTIVELY REDUCED FATIGUE IN PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER BUT DID NOT REDUCE DEPRESSION OR ANXIETY. ONCOLOGY NURSES SHOULD STRENGTHEN THEIR CLINICAL HEALTH EDUCATION AND APPLY YOGA TO REDUCE THE FATIGUE EXPERIENCED BY PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER WHO UNDERGO ADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY. 2014