1 2395 188 YOGA AND CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH TRIAL (YACHT): A UK-BASED RANDOMISED MECHANISTIC STUDY OF A YOGA INTERVENTION PLUS USUAL CARE VERSUS USUAL CARE ALONE FOLLOWING AN ACUTE CORONARY EVENT. OBJECTIVE: TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE ON SUBCLINICAL CARDIOVASCULAR MEASURES, RISK FACTORS AND NEURO-ENDOCRINE PATHWAYS IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING CARDIAC REHABILITATION (CR) FOLLOWING ACUTE CORONARY EVENTS. DESIGN: 3-MONTH, TWO-ARM (YOGA +USUAL CARE VS USUAL CARE ALONE) PARALLEL RANDOMISED MECHANISTIC STUDY. SETTING: ONE GENERAL HOSPITAL AND TWO PRIMARY CARE CR CENTRES IN LONDON. ASSESSMENTS WERE CONDUCTED AT IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON. PARTICIPANTS: 80 PARTICIPANTS, AGED 35-80 YEARS (68% MEN, 60% SOUTH ASIAN) REFERRED TO CR PROGRAMMES 2012-2014. INTERVENTION: A CERTIFIED YOGA TEACHER CONDUCTED YOGA CLASSES WHICH INCLUDED EXERCISES IN STRETCHING, BREATHING, HEALING IMAGERY AND DEEP RELAXATION. IT WAS PRE-SPECIFIED THAT AT LEAST 18 YOGA CLASSES WERE ATTENDED FOR INCLUSION IN ANALYSIS. PARTICIPANTS AND PARTNERS IN BOTH GROUPS WERE INVITED TO ATTEND WEEKLY A 6- TO 12-WEEK LOCAL STANDARD UK NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE CR PROGRAMME. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: (I) ESTIMATED LEFT VENTRICULAR FILLING PRESSURE (E/E'), (II) DISTANCE WALKED, FATIGUE AND BREATHLESSNESS IN A 6 MIN WALK TEST, (III) BLOOD PRESSURE, HEART RATE AND ESTIMATED PEAK VO2 FOLLOWING A 3 MIN STEP-TEST. EFFECTS ON THE HYPOTHALAMUS-PITUITARY-ADRENAL AXIS, AUTONOMIC FUNCTION, BODY FAT, BLOOD LIPIDS AND GLUCOSE, STRESS AND GENERAL HEALTH WERE ALSO EXPLORED. RESULTS: 25 PARTICIPANTS IN THE YOGA + USUAL CARE GROUP AND 35 PARTICIPANTS IN THE USUAL CARE GROUP COMPLETED THE STUDY. FOLLOWING THE 3-MONTH INTERVENTION PERIOD, E/E' WAS NOT IMPROVED BY YOGA (E/E': BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCE: YOGA MINUS USUAL CARE:-0.40 (-1.38, 0.58). EXERCISE TESTING AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES ALSO SHOWED NO BENEFITS OF YOGA. CONCLUSIONS: IN THIS SMALL UK-BASED RANDOMISED MECHANISTIC STUDY, WITH 60 COMPLETING PARTICIPANTS (OF WHOM 25 WERE IN THE YOGA + USUAL CARE GROUP), WE FOUND NO DISCERNIBLE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATED WITH THE ADDITION OF A STRUCTURED 3-MONTH YOGA INTERVENTION TO USUAL CR CARE IN KEY CARDIOVASCULAR AND NEUROENDOCRINE MEASURES SHOWN TO BE RESPONSIVE TO YOGA IN PREVIOUS MECHANISTIC STUDIES. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT01597960; PRE-RESULTS. 2019 2 2187 44 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 3 2871 37 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 4 459 37 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 5 1368 51 IMPACT OF A SHORT HOME-BASED YOGA PROGRAMME ON BLOOD PRESSURE IN PATIENTS WITH HYPERTENSION: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL IN PRIMARY CARE. THE PRESENT STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO EVALUATE YOGA'S IMPACT ON BLOOD PRESSURE (BP) AND QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) AND ON STRESS, DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY IN PATIENTS WITH HYPERTENSION IN A PRIMARY CARE SETTING. WE CONDUCTED A MULTI-CENTRE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL WITH FOLLOW-UP AFTER 12-WEEK INTERVENTION COMPLETION. ADULT PRIMARY CARE PATIENTS DIAGNOSED WITH HYPERTENSION WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED TO YOGA OR USUAL CARE. THE INTERVENTION GROUP PERFORMED A SHORT HOME-BASED KUNDALINI YOGA PROGRAMME 15 MIN TWICE-DAILY DURING THE 12-WEEK INTERVENTION PERIOD. AT BASELINE AND FOLLOW-UP, THE PARTICIPANTS UNDERWENT STANDARDIZED BP MEASUREMENTS AND COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRES ON QOL, STRESS, ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION. DATA OBTAINED FROM 191 PATIENTS (MEAN AGE 64.7 YEARS, S.D. 8.4) ALLOCATED TO YOGA INTERVENTION (N=96) AND CONTROL GROUP (N=95), WITH A TOTAL PROPORTION OF 52% WOMEN, SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN SYSTOLIC AND DIASTOLIC BP FOR BOTH GROUPS (-3.8/-1.7 MM HG FOR YOGA AND -4.5/-3.0 MM HG FOR CONTROL GROUPS, RESPECTIVELY). HOWEVER, THE BP REDUCTION FOR THE YOGA GROUP WAS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM CONTROL. THERE WERE SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE YOGA GROUP IN SOME OF THE QOL AND DEPRESSION MEASURES (P<0.05, HOSPITAL ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCALE, HADS-D) COMPARED WITH CONTROL. THE FINDINGS OF OUR STUDY, WHICH IS THE LARGEST STUDY FROM AN OECD COUNTRY (ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT) TO DATE, DO NOT SUPPORT THE SUGGESTION FROM PREVIOUS SMALLER STUDIES THAT YOGA LOWERS THE BP. FURTHER CLINICAL TRIALS ARE NEEDED TO CONFIRM THESE FINDINGS. HOWEVER, THE YOGA PATIENTS HAD OTHER HEALTH BENEFITS. 2016 6 290 47 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 7 748 32 EFFECT OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION ON QUALITY OF LIFE, ANXIETY, AND BLOOD PRESSURE CONTROL. OBJECTIVE: THE PRESENT STUDY INVESTIGATES THE EFFECT OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION ON QUALITY OF LIFE, ANXIETY, AND BLOOD PRESSURE CONTROL. DESIGN: THE PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL COHORT STUDY ENROLLED TWO STUDY GROUPS: THOSE RECEIVING TREATMENT FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SAHAJA YOGA RESEARCH AND HEALTH CENTER (MEDITATION GROUP) AND THOSE RECEIVING TREATMENT FROM THE MAHATMA GANDHI MISSION HOSPITAL (CONTROL GROUP). RESEARCHERS MEASURED QUALITY OF LIFE, ANXIETY, AND BLOOD PRESSURE BEFORE AND AFTER TREATMENT. RESULTS: SIXTY-SEVEN (67) PARTICIPANTS IN THE MEDITATION GROUP AND 62 PARTICIPANTS IN THE CONTROL GROUP COMPLETED THE STUDY. THE TWO GROUPS WERE COMPARABLE IN DEMOGRAPHIC AND CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS. AT BASELINE, THE MEDITATION GROUP HAD HIGHER QUALITY OF LIFE (P<0.001) THAN CONTROLS BUT SIMILAR ANXIETY LEVEL (P=0.74) TO CONTROLS. WITHIN-GROUP PRE- VERSUS POST-TREATMENT COMPARISONS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN QUALITY OF LIFE, ANXIETY, AND BLOOD PRESSURE IN THE MEDITATION GROUP (P<0.001), WHILE IN CONTROLS, QUALITY OF LIFE DETERIORATED AND THERE WAS NO IMPROVEMENT IN BLOOD PRESSURE. THE IMPROVEMENT IN QUALITY OF LIFE, ANXIETY REDUCTION, AND BLOOD PRESSURE CONTROL WAS GREATER IN THE MEDITATION GROUP. THE BENEFICIAL EFFECT OF MEDITATION REMAINED SIGNIFICANT AFTER ADJUSTING FOR CONFOUNDERS. CONCLUSIONS: MEDITATION TREATMENT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN QUALITY OF LIFE, ANXIETY REDUCTION, AND BLOOD PRESSURE CONTROL. 2012 8 1153 40 ENHANCING THE APPEAL OF CARDIAC REHABILITATION FOR WOMEN: DEVELOPMENT AND PILOT TESTING OF A WOMEN-ONLY YOGA CARDIAC REHABILITATION PROGRAMME. AIMS: DESPITE ITS DEMONSTRATED BENEFITS, CARDIAC REHABILITATION (CR) ATTENDANCE, AND COMPLETION IS SUBOPTIMAL, PARTICULARLY IN WOMEN. THE AIMS OF THIS STUDY WERE (I) TO DEVELOP AND PILOT TEST A WOMEN-ONLY YOGA-BASED CR PROGRAMME (THE WOMEN'S YOGA CR PROGRAMME; WYCRP); (II) TO INVESTIGATE PROGRAMME ACCEPTABILITY; AND (III) TO INVESTIGATE ATTENDANCE AND COMPLETION OF THE WYCRP AND CONTINUATION TO PHASE III COMMUNITY-BASED CR. METHODS AND RESULTS: WOMEN ELIGIBLE FOR CR AT A TERTIARY HOSPITAL IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA WERE RECRUITED. OVER A 6-MONTH PERIOD IN 2019, THEY WERE OFFERED THE WYCRP OR USUAL CR. THE WYCRP INVOLVED ATTENDANCE AT A 1-H YOGA SESSION FOLLOWING THE USUAL 1-H MIXED-SEX EDUCATION SESSION, OVER A 7-WEEK PERIOD. PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED PRE- AND POST-PROGRAMME QUESTIONNAIRES AND ATTENDED FOCUS GROUPS TO ASSESS PROGRAMME ACCEPTABILITY. RATES OF ATTENDANCE, COMPLETION, AND CONTINUATION FOR THE WYCRP WERE RECORDED AND COMPARED TO THOSE FOR THE STANDARD CR PROGRAMME OFFERED IN 2018. IN TOTAL, 27 WOMEN WERE ELIGIBLE FOR THE STUDY AND ATTENDED THE INITIAL CR ASSESSMENT. OF THOSE, 22 (81%) ATTENDED THE WYCRP, 1 (4%) ATTENDED USUAL CR, AND 4 (15%) DID NOT ATTEND CR. RATINGS OF PROGRAMME ACCEPTABILITY WERE CONSISTENTLY POSITIVE; QUALITATIVE COMMENTS HIGHLIGHTED BOTH PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL BENEFITS. WHILE ATTENDANCE AT THE WYCRP WAS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN FOR USUAL CR THE PREVIOUS YEAR (81% VS. 76%; P = 0.40), CR COMPLETION, AND CONTINUATION WERE (95% VS. 56%; P = 0.02, AND 72% VS. 12%; P < 0.001, RESPECTIVELY). CONCLUSION: THIS PILOT STUDY HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT WOMEN-ONLY YOGA-BASED CR IS APPEALING TO WOMEN AND CAN IMPROVE WOMEN'S CR COMPLETION AND CONTINUATION. THESE PRELIMINARY FINDINGS SUPPORT FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN-ONLY AND YOGA-BASED CR OPTIONS. 2021 9 1402 49 IMPACT OF YOGA ON BLOOD PRESSURE AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH HYPERTENSION - A CONTROLLED TRIAL IN PRIMARY CARE, MATCHED FOR SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE. BACKGROUND: MEDICAL TREATMENT OF HYPERTENSION IS NOT ALWAYS SUFFICIENT TO ACHIEVE BLOOD PRESSURE CONTROL. DESPITE THIS, PREVIOUS STUDIES ON SUPPLEMENTARY THERAPIES, SUCH AS YOGA, ARE RELATIVELY FEW. WE INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF TWO YOGA INTERVENTIONS ON BLOOD PRESSURE AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE DIAGNOSED WITH HYPERTENSION. METHODS: ADULT PATIENTS (AGE 20-80 YEARS) WITH DIAGNOSED HYPERTENSION WERE IDENTIFIED BY AN ELECTRONIC CHART SEARCH AT A PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CENTER IN SOUTHERN SWEDEN. IN TOTAL, 83 SUBJECTS WITH BLOOD PRESSURE VALUES OF 120-179/