1 2559 149 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 2 2566 45 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 3 2622 44 YOGA FOR SUBSTANCE USE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. INTRODUCTION: SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS (SUDS) ARE COMPLEX INTERACTIONS BETWEEN VARIOUS GENETIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, DEVELOPMENTAL, AND SOCIAL FACTORS. YOGA IS RECOMMENDED AS A NONMAINSTREAM TREATMENT FOR MANY HEALTH CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SUDS. METHODS: FIVE DATABASES WERE SEARCHED FOR RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) THAT EVALUATED YOGA AS AN INTERVENTION IN ADULTS WITH ANY TYPE OF SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER. THE INTERVENTIONS BEING STUDIED INCLUDED HATHA YOGA, SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA, BREATHING YOGA EXERCISES, AND MEDITATION. STUDIES, WHERE YOGA WAS COMBINED WITH OTHER INTERVENTIONS WERE EXCLUDED. THE EFFECT OF YOGA AS AN INTERVENTION WAS ANALYZED USING PRIMARY OUTCOMES SUCH AS ANXIETY, PAIN, AND CRAVING. EIGHT RCTS MET THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, AND QUALITY ANALYSIS WAS CONDUCTED USING THE COCHRANE CRITERIA. RESULTS: AMONG THE 8 FINAL STUDIES ELIGIBLE FOR QUALITY ANALYSIS, 2 HAD UNDEFINED SUBSTANCE USE, WHILE THE OTHERS WERE FOCUSED ON TOBACCO, ALCOHOL, OR OPIOIDS. SEVEN OUT OF 8 STUDIES SHOWED SIGNIFICANT RESULTS AND IMPROVED PRIMARY OUTCOMES SUCH AS ANXIETY, PAIN, OR SUBSTANCE USE. SEVEN OUT OF THE 8 STUDIES SHOWED SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE OUTCOMES USING YOGA IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT MODALITIES LIKE OPIOID SUBSTITUTION THERAPY. CONCLUSIONS: SIX OUT OF 8 STUDIES SHOWED LOW CONCERNS, WHILE 2 STUDIES SHOWED SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE RISK OF BIAS JUDGMENT. ALTHOUGH THE RESULTS LOOK ENCOURAGING, RCTS WITH LARGER SAMPLE SIZE ARE NEEDED TO BETTER EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA AS A TREATMENT MODALITY FOR SUBSTANCE USE. 2021 4 1084 33 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON STRESS MANAGEMENT IN HEALTHY ADULTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. OBJECTIVE: THIS ARTICLE REPORTS A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON STRESS MANAGEMENT IN HEALTHY ADULTS. METHODS: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE SEARCH WAS PERFORMED TO IDENTIFY RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) AND CLINICAL CONTROLLED TRIALS (CCTS) THAT ASSESSED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON STRESS MANAGEMENT IN HEALTHY ADULTS. SELECTED STUDIES WERE CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THE TYPES OF INTERVENTION, DURATION, OUTCOME MEASURES, AND RESULTS. THEY WERE ALSO QUALITATIVELY ASSESSED BASED ON PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS. RESULTS: THE SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WAS BASED ON EIGHT RCTS AND CCTS THAT INDICATED A POSITIVE EFFECT OF YOGA IN REDUCING STRESS LEVELS OR STRESS SYMPTOMS. HOWEVER, MOST OF THE STUDIES HAD METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS IN THAT THE INTERVENTION DURATION WAS SHORT AND LIMITED FOLLOW-UP DATA WAS AVAILABLE. CONCLUSION: THIS REVIEW REVEALED POSITIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON STRESS REDUCTION IN HEALTHY ADULT POPULATIONS. HOWEVER, THE RESULT SHOULD BE INTERPRETED WITH CAUTION DUE TO THE SMALL NUMBER OF STUDIES AND THE ASSOCIATED METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS. FURTHER STUDIES TO ASCERTAIN YOGA'S LONG-TERM EFFECTS AND THE UNDERLYING BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS LEADING TO ITS STRESS REDUCTION EFFECT SHOULD BE CONDUCTED. 2011 5 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 6 1088 39 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON SYMPTOMS, PHYSICAL FUNCTION, AND PSYCHOSOCIAL OUTCOMES IN ADULTS WITH OSTEOARTHRITIS: A FOCUSED REVIEW. OSTEOARTHRITIS (OA) IS A HIGHLY PREVALENT AND DISABLING CHRONIC CONDITION. BECAUSE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS A KEY COMPONENT IN OA MANAGEMENT, EFFECTIVE EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS ARE NEEDED. YOGA IS AN INCREASINGLY POPULAR MULTIMODAL MIND-BODY EXERCISE THAT AIMS TO PROMOTE FLEXIBILITY, STRENGTH, ENDURANCE, AND BALANCE. ITS GENTLE APPROACH IS POTENTIALLY A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE EXERCISE OPTION FOR MANAGING OA. THE PURPOSE OF THIS FOCUSED REVIEW IS TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON OA SYMPTOMS AND PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOSOCIAL OUTCOMES. A COMPREHENSIVE SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED USING SEVEN ELECTRONIC DATABASES. TWELVE REPORTS MET INCLUSION CRITERIA INVOLVING A TOTAL OF 589 PARTICIPANTS WITH OA-RELATED SYMPTOMS. A VARIETY OF TYPES, FREQUENCIES, AND DURATIONS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS WERE REPORTED; HATHA AND IYENGAR YOGA WERE THE MOST COMMONLY USED TYPES. FREQUENCY OF INTERVENTION RANGED FROM ONCE A WEEK TO 6 DAYS A WEEK. DURATION OF THE INTERVENTIONS RANGED FROM 45 TO 90 MINS PER SESSION FOR 6 TO 12 WKS. YOGA INTERVENTION RESULTED IN REDUCTIONS IN PAIN, STIFFNESS, AND SWELLING, BUT RESULTS ON PHYSICAL FUNCTION AND PSYCHOSOCIAL WELL-BEING WERE INCONCLUSIVE BECAUSE OF A VARIETY OF OUTCOME MEASURES BEING USED. 2016 7 1108 39 EFFECTS OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS ON CANCER-ASSOCIATED COGNITIVE DECLINE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. PURPOSE OF REVIEW: TO SUMMARIZE AND EVALUATE EVIDENCE AVAILABLE ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON CANCER-ASSOCIATED COGNITIVE DECLINE (CACD). RECENT FINDINGS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WAS CONDUCTED USING FOUR DATABASES OF ARTICLES PUBLISHED BEFORE JANUARY 1, 2020. TEN ARTICLES MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA (SIX RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS, TWO SINGLE-ARM STUDIES, ONE NON-RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL, AND ONE CASE SERIES STUDY). STUDIES WERE PREDOMINANTLY CONDUCTED WITH BREAST CANCER PATIENTS USING LOW-INTENSITY HATHA YOGA PROGRAMS. OF THE 10 ARTICLES, FIVE REPORTED SOME POSITIVE EFFECTS ON CACD, BUT SIGNIFICANT BIASES WERE POSSIBLE DUE TO DESIGN SHORTCOMINGS. COHEN'S D EFFECT SIZES RANGED FROM |0.03| TO |0.74|. THE EVIDENCE TO DATE IS INSUFFICIENT TO SUGGEST THAT YOGA IS BENEFICIAL FOR ATTENUATING CACD. MORE RIGOROUS TRIALS CONTROLLING FOR NON-SPECIFIC FACTORS ARE WARRANTED. THE FIELD WOULD ALSO BENEFIT FROM EXAMINING SELF-DELIVERED MODES OF YOGA FOR TREATING CACD IN VARIOUS CANCER POPULATIONS TO ENHANCE PRACTICE SUSTAINABILITY AND GENERALIZABILITY. 2020 8 2470 48 YOGA AS A TREATMENT FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE. OBJECTIVES: CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN (CLBP) AFFECTS MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE, AND APPEARS TO BE INCREASING IN PREVALENCE. IT IS ASSOCIATED NOT ONLY WITH PAIN, BUT ALSO WITH INCREASED DISABILITY, PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS, AND REDUCED QUALITY OF LIFE. THERE ARE VARIOUS TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR CLBP, BUT NO SINGLE THERAPY STANDS OUT AS BEING THE MOST EFFECTIVE. IN THE PAST 10 YEARS, YOGA INTERVENTIONS HAVE BEEN STUDIED AS A CLBP TREATMENT APPROACH. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PAPER IS TO REVIEW THE CURRENT LITERATURE SUPPORTING THE EFFICACY OF YOGA FOR CLBP. METHODS: A LITERATURE SEARCH THROUGH THE BEGINNING OF 2015 WAS CONDUCTED IN PUB MED FOR RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS ADDRESSING TREATMENT OF CLBP WITH YOGA. RESULTS: IN THIS REVIEW WE EVALUATE THE USE OF YOGA AS A TREATMENT FOR CLBP. SPECIFICALLY WE EVALUATE HOW YOGA IMPACTS PHYSICAL FUNCTIONING AND DISABILITY, PAIN, AND ASSOCIATED PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS. WE ALSO EVALUATE POSSIBLE MEDIATORS OF THE EFFECT OF YOGA AND THE SAFETY OF YOGA. DISCUSSION: WITH FEW EXCEPTIONS, PREVIOUS STUDIES AND THE RECENT RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS (RCTS) INDICATE THAT YOGA CAN REDUCE PAIN AND DISABILITY, CAN BE PRACTICED SAFELY, AND IS WELL RECEIVED BY PARTICIPANTS. SOME STUDIES ALSO INDICATE THAT YOGA MAY IMPROVE PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS, BUT THESE EFFECTS ARE CURRENTLY NOT AS WELL ESTABLISHED. 2016 9 1516 46 IS YOGA AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN COMPARED WITH OTHER CARE MODALITIES - A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. OBJECTIVE: THE AIM OF THE STUDY WAS TO ASSESS RANDOMIZED-CONTROL TRIALS (RCTS) TO ASCERTAIN WHETHER YOGA IS AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN (CLBP) COMPARED WITH OTHER CARE MODALITIES. METHODS: A SEARCH STRATEGY WAS FORMULATED WITH KEY CONCEPTS IDENTIFIED USING THE PICO PROCESS. FOUR DATABASES WERE SEARCHED IN JUNE 2012. APPROPRIATE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA WERE SET AND IMPLEMENTED. RESULTS: FOUR RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA. ALL FOUR PAPERS FOUND THAT YOGA LEAD TO A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN BACK FUNCTION, AND THREE DEMONSTRATED A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN BACK PAIN WHEN COMPARED WITH CERTAIN CARE MODALITIES. ALL PAPERS HAD SIGNIFICANT LIMITATIONS IDENTIFIED, HOWEVER. CONCLUSIONS: GIVEN THE LIMITATIONS IDENTIFIED WITHIN THE STUDIES, THE CONCLUSIONS DRAWN MUST BE CONSIDERED CONSERVATIVELY. ALTHOUGH EARLY RESULTS APPEAR PROMISING, BUT FURTHER WELL-DESIGNED RCTS ARE WARRANTED, WITH MULTIPLE, SPECIFIED COMPARATOR CARE MODALITIES BEFORE FIRM CONCLUSIONS CAN BE GAINED. 2013 10 2200 36 THE EFFICACY OF YOGA AS A FORM OF TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSION. THE PURPOSE OF THIS ARTICLE WAS TO SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEW YOGA INTERVENTIONS AIMED AT IMPROVING DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS. A TOTAL OF 23 INTERVENTIONS PUBLISHED BETWEEN 2011 AND MAY 2016 WERE EVALUATED IN THIS REVIEW. THREE STUDY DESIGNS WERE USED: RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS, QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL, AND PRETEST/POSTTEST, WITH MAJORITY BEING RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS. MOST OF THE STUDIES WERE IN THE UNITED STATES. VARIOUS YOGA SCHOOLS WERE USED, WITH THE MOST COMMON BEING HATHA YOGA. THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS PARTICIPATING IN THE STUDIES RANGED FROM 14 TO 136, IMPLYING THAT MOST STUDIES HAD A SMALL SAMPLE. THE DURATION OF THE INTERVENTION PERIOD VARIED GREATLY, WITH THE MAJORITY BEING 6 WEEKS OR LONGER. LIMITATIONS OF THE INTERVENTIONS INVOLVED THE SMALL SAMPLE SIZES USED BY THE MAJORITY OF THE STUDIES, MOST STUDIES EXAMINING THE SHORT-TERM EFFECT OF YOGA FOR DEPRESSION, AND THE NONUTILIZATION OF BEHAVIORAL THEORIES. DESPITE THE LIMITATIONS, IT CAN BE CONCLUDED THAT THE YOGA INTERVENTIONS WERE EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING DEPRESSION. 2017 11 2181 50 THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PHYSICAL FUNCTIONING AND HEALTH RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN OLDER ADULTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. OBJECTIVE: THE GOAL WAS TO REVIEW SYSTEMATICALLY THE COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA, COMPARED WITH OTHER EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS, FOR OLDER ADULTS AS SHOWN ON MEASURES OF HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FUNCTIONING. DESIGN: THIS WAS A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WITH BOTH NARRATIVE SYNTHESIS AND META-ANALYSIS. DATA SOURCES: SEARCHES WERE CONDUCTED IN MEDLINE(R)/PUBMED, PSYCINFO, CINAHL, WEB OF SCIENCE, AND SCOPUS; BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF SELECTED ARTICLES; AND ONE SYSTEMATIC REVIEW ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. METHODS: ORIGINAL STUDIES FROM 1950 TO NOVEMBER 2010 WERE SOUGHT, EVALUATING THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON OLDER ADULTS. THE SEARCH WAS RESTRICTED TO RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS OF YOGA IN SUBJECTS >/=AGE 60, AND PUBLISHED IN ENGLISH. DATA WERE EXTRACTED AND EVALUATED REGARDING SETTING, POPULATION SIZE AND CHARACTERISTICS, INTERVENTION TYPE AND DURATION, COMPARISON GROUP, OUTCOME ASSESSMENT, DATA ANALYSIS, FOLLOW-UP, KEY RESULTS, AND THE QUALITY OF EACH STUDY ACCORDING TO SPECIFIC PREDETERMINED CRITERIA. RESULTS: THE SEARCH YIELDED 18 ELIGIBLE STUDIES (N=649). THE STUDIES REPORTED ON OLDER ADULTS ACROSS A RANGE OF SETTINGS, INTERVENTION INTENSITY, AND OUTCOME MEASURES. THE MAJORITY OF THE STUDIES HAD<35 PARTICIPANTS (RANGE 9-77). QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE SYNTHESIS OF THE STUDIES SUGGESTED THAT THE BENEFITS OF YOGA MAY EXCEED THOSE OF CONVENTIONAL EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS FOR SELF-RATED HEALTH STATUS, AEROBIC FITNESS, AND STRENGTH. HOWEVER, THE EFFECT SIZES WERE MODEST, AND THE EVIDENCE WAS MIXED FOR YOGA'S EFFECT ON DEPRESSION, SLEEP, AND BONE-MINERAL DENSITY. STUDIES DID NOT FIND AN EFFECT ON COGNITION. CONCLUSIONS: SMALL STUDIES WITH MIXED METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY SUGGESTED THAT YOGA MAY BE SUPERIOR TO CONVENTIONAL PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY INTERVENTIONS IN ELDERLY PEOPLE. THE PRECISION OF THE ESTIMATES REMAINS LOW. LARGER STUDIES ARE NECESSARY TO DEFINE BETTER THE INTERSECTION OF POPULATIONS, SETTINGS, AND INTERVENTIONS IN WHICH YOGA IS MOST BENEFICIAL. 2012 12 83 39 A META-ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS FOR MATERNAL DEPRESSION DURING PREGNANCY. PROMPT AND EFFECTIVE TREATMENT OF MATERNAL DEPRESSION DURING PREGNANCY IS IMPORTANT AS IT IS AN INDEPENDENT PREDICTOR OF NEGATIVE MATERNAL AND FETAL OUTCOMES. YOGA IS AN INCREASINGLY POPULAR NON-PHARMACOLOGICAL MODALITY. THIS STUDY THUS AIMED TO UNDERTAKE A META-ANALYSIS OF THE EFFICACY OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS FOR MATERNAL DEPRESSION DURING PREGNANCY. A TOTAL OF 8 CLINICAL STUDIES WERE SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEWED, AND 6 STUDIES WITH A TOTAL OF 405 PREGNANT MOTHERS WERE INCLUDED IN THE FINAL META-ANALYSIS. APPLYING PER-PROTOCOL ANALYSIS AND A RANDOM-EFFECTS MODEL, THE POOLED STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE (SMD) FROM BASELINE DEPRESSIVE SCORE WAS -0.452 (95% CI: -0.816 TO -0.880, P=0.015), SUPPORTING A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT BENEFICIAL EFFECT OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS ON MOOD. OVERALL, YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS ARE A PROMISING NON-PHARMACOLOGICAL OPTION, HOWEVER, MOST TRIALS EXAMINED WERE PRELIMINARY, RECRUITED ONLY PARTICIPANTS WITH MILD DEPRESSION, DID NOT BLIND STUDY PARTICIPANTS AND HAD RELATIVELY SMALL SAMPLE SIZES. LARGER RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED TRIALS SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED. 2019 13 2539 40 YOGA FOR ADULTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF CONTROLLED TRIALS. A GROWING BODY OF EVIDENCE SUGGESTS YOGIC PRACTICES MAY BENEFIT ADULTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES (DM2). IN THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW, WE EVALUATE AVAILABLE EVIDENCE FROM PROSPECTIVE CONTROLLED TRIALS REGARDING THE EFFECTS OF YOGA-BASED PROGRAMS ON SPECIFIC HEALTH OUTCOMES PERTINENT TO DM2 MANAGEMENT. TO IDENTIFY QUALIFYING STUDIES, WE SEARCHED NINE DATABASES AND SCANNED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF RELEVANT REVIEW PAPERS AND ALL IDENTIFIED ARTICLES. CONTROLLED TRIALS THAT DID NOT TARGET ADULTS WITH DIABETES, INCLUDED ONLY ADULTS WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES, WERE UNDER TWO-WEEK DURATION, OR DID NOT INCLUDE QUANTITATIVE OUTCOME DATA WERE EXCLUDED. STUDY QUALITY WAS EVALUATED USING THE PEDRO SCALE. THIRTY-THREE PAPERS REPORTING FINDINGS FROM 25 CONTROLLED TRIALS (13 NONRANDOMIZED, 12 RANDOMIZED) MET OUR INCLUSION CRITERIA (N = 2170 PARTICIPANTS). COLLECTIVELY, FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT YOGIC PRACTICES MAY PROMOTE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN SEVERAL INDICES OF IMPORTANCE IN DM2 MANAGEMENT, INCLUDING GLYCEMIC CONTROL, LIPID LEVELS, AND BODY COMPOSITION. MORE LIMITED DATA SUGGEST THAT YOGA MAY ALSO LOWER OXIDATIVE STRESS AND BLOOD PRESSURE; ENHANCE PULMONARY AND AUTONOMIC FUNCTION, MOOD, SLEEP, AND QUALITY OF LIFE; AND REDUCE MEDICATION USE IN ADULTS WITH DM2. HOWEVER, GIVEN THE METHODOLOGICAL LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING STUDIES, ADDITIONAL HIGH-QUALITY INVESTIGATIONS ARE REQUIRED TO CONFIRM AND FURTHER ELUCIDATE THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF YOGA PROGRAMS IN POPULATIONS WITH DM2. 2016 14 1043 43 EFFECTS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS ON FATIGUE: A META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND. RESEARCHERS AIMED AT SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEWING AND META-ANALYZING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR FATIGUE. METHODS. PUBMED/MEDLINE WAS SEARCHED UNTIL JANUARY 2012 FOR CONTROLLED CLINICAL STUDIES. TWO REVIEWERS INDEPENDENTLY EXTRACTED THE DATA. THE METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY OF THE STUDIES WAS ASSESSED. A META-ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED. RESULTS. NINETEEN CLINICAL STUDIES (TOTAL N = 948) WERE INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW. INVESTIGATED YOGA STYLES INCLUDED HATHA, IYENGAR, ASANAS, PATANJALI, SAHAJA, AND TIBETAN YOGA. PARTICIPANTS WERE SUFFERING FROM CANCER, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, DIALYSIS, CHRONIC PANCREATITIS, FIBROMYALGIA, ASTHMA, OR WERE HEALTHY. YOGA HAD A SMALL POSITIVE EFFECT ON FATIGUE (SMD = 0.27, 59% CI = 0.23-0.31). SEVEN STUDIES RECEIVED 4 POINTS ON THE JADAD SCORE. THERE WERE BASELINE DIFFERENCES IN AT LEAST 5 STUDIES. CONCLUSION. OVERALL, THE EFFECTS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS ON FATIGUE WERE ONLY SMALL, PARTICULARLY IN CANCER PATIENTS. ALTHOUGH YOGA IS GENERALLY A SAFE THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION AND EFFECTIVE TO ATTENUATE OTHER HEALTH-RELATED SYMPTOMS, THIS META-ANALYSIS WAS NOT ABLE TO DEFINE THE POWERFUL EFFECT OF YOGA ON PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM FATIGUE. TREATMENT EFFECTS OF YOGA COULD BE IMPROVED IN WELL-DESIGNED FUTURE STUDIES. ACCORDING TO THE GRADE RECOMMENDATIONS ASSESSING THE OVERALL QUALITY OF EVIDENCE, THERE IS A MODERATE EFFECT OF THE CONFIDENCE PLACED IN THE ESTIMATES OF THE EFFECTS DISCUSSED HERE. 2012 15 228 42 A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA ON PAIN, PHYSICAL FUNCTION, AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN OLDER ADULTS WITH CHRONIC MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS. OBJECTIVES: EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS SUITABLE FOR OLDER ADULTS CAN HELP TO SLOW AND MANAGE AGE-RELATED CONDITIONS. THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW LOOKS AT AGE-RELATED MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS IN A POPULATION WITH A MEAN AGE OVER 50 YEARS, EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA FOR PAIN, PHYSICAL FUNCTION, AND QUALITY OF LIFE. METHODS: CENTRAL,CINAHL, PUBMED, PSYCINFO, SCOPUS, SPORTS DISCUS, WEB OF SCIENCE CORE COLLECTION, AND GOOGLE SCHOLAR WERE SEARCHED. STUDY SELECTION AND QUALITY SCREENING USING THE COCHRANE RISK OF BIAS TOOL WERE CONDUCTED BY TWO REVIEWERS TO MITIGATE BIAS. PRISMA GUIDELINES WERE FOLLOWED IN CONDUCTING AND REPORTING THE REVIEW. RESULTS: 11 STUDIES MET INCLUSION CRITERIA WITH A TOTAL SAMPLE OF 2221 (>/=70% FEMALE). EIGHT STUDIES MEASURED PAIN, SIX SHOWING SIGNIFICANT EFFECTIVENESS (P=/=60. A SECONDARY AIM WAS TO DESCRIBE INTERVENTION CHARACTERISTICS AND, WHERE POSSIBLE, THE EXTENT TO WHICH THESE INFLUENCED STUDY OUTCOMES. METHOD: THE REVIEW WAS CONDUCTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH PRISMA GUIDELINES. SEARCHES WERE PERFORMED FROM INCEPTION TO JUNE 2020 USING THE FOLLOWING ELECTRONIC DATABASES: (1) PUBMED (NLM); (2) EMBASE (ELSEVIER); (3) COCHRANE CENTRAL (WILEY); (4) PSYCINFO (EBSCOHOST); AND (5) CINAHL (EBSCOHOST). INCLUSION CRITERIA: RCTS OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS ASSESSING COGNITION IN HEALTHY ADULTS >/=60 YEARS. RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE REVISED COCHRANE RISK OF BIAS TOOL. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 1466 RECORDS WERE INITIALLY IDENTIFIED; SIX STUDIES (5 UNIQUE TRIALS) WERE INCLUDED IN THE REVIEW. FOUR OF THE SIX ARTICLES REPORTED SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS ON COGNITION, INCLUDING GROSS MEMORY FUNCTIONING AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS. INTERVENTION CHARACTERISTICS AND ASSESSMENT METHODS VARIED BETWEEN STUDIES, WITH A HIGH OVERALL RISK OF BIAS IN ALL STUDIES. CONCLUSION: YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVEMENTS IN COGNITION IN HEALTHY OLDER ADULTS. ADEQUATELY POWERED RCTS WITH ROBUST STUDY DESIGNS AND LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UPS ARE REQUIRED. FUTURE STUDIES SHOULD EXPLICITLY REPORT THE INTERVENTION CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES IN COGNITIVE FUNCTION. 2021 19 2105 32 THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON MENSTRUAL DISORDERS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. OBJECTIVE: TO SUMMARIZE AND EVALUATE EVIDENCE FOR THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON MENSTRUAL DISORDERS. METHODS: PUBMED, CINAHL/MEDLINE, WEB OF SCIENCE, AMED, AND SCOPUS WERE SEARCHED FOR ENGLISH-LANGUAGE LITERATURE RELEVANT TO THE REVIEW QUESTION. ALL PRIMARY RESEARCH STUDIES WERE INCLUDED. RESULTS: FIFTEEN STUDIES DESCRIBED IN 18 PAPERS WERE INCLUDED IN THE REVIEW. A RANGE OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS WERE USED. SOME STUDIES USED A COMBINATION OF ASANA, PRANAYAMA, AND OTHER YOGIC RELAXATION OR MEDITATION TECHNIQUES. ALL INCLUDED STUDIES REPORTED SOME CHANGE IN THEIR OUTCOME MEASURES, SUGGESTING REDUCED SYMPTOMS OF MENSTRUAL DISTRESS FOLLOWING A YOGA INTERVENTION; HOWEVER, THE HETEROGENEITY AND INTENSITY OF THE INTERVENTIONS AND OUTCOME MEASURES MEANT THAT FINDINGS HAVE LIMITED GENERALIZABILITY AND APPLICABILITY IN PRACTICE SETTINGS. CONCLUSIONS: FURTHER RESEARCH ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOGA PRACTICE AND MENSTRUAL DISORDERS IS WARRANTED, BUT THERE MUST BE BOTH CONSISTENCY IN THE METHODS, MEASURES, AND QUALITY OF STUDIES AND A SHIFT TOWARD RESEARCH ON YOGA PRACTICES THAT ARE REPLICABLE OUTSIDE OF THE CLINICAL TRIAL SETTING. 2017 20 237 36 A SYSTEMATIC SCOPING REVIEW OF YOGA INTERVENTION COMPONENTS AND STUDY QUALITY. CONTEXT: THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF YOGA REQUIRES RIGOROUS METHODOLOGY. THIS REVIEW AIMED TO SYSTEMATICALLY ASSESS ALL STUDIES OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS TO (1) DETERMINE YOGA INTERVENTION CHARACTERISTICS; (2) EXAMINE METHODOLOGIC QUALITY OF THE SUBSET OF RCTS; AND (3) EXPLORE HOW WELL THESE INTERVENTIONS ARE REPORTED. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: SEARCHES WERE CONDUCTED THROUGH APRIL 2012 IN PUBMED, PSYCINFO, AGELINE, AND OVID'S ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE DATABASE USING THE TEXT TERM YOGA, AND THROUGH HANDSEARCHING FIVE JOURNALS. ORIGINAL STUDIES WERE INCLUDED IF THE INTERVENTION (1) CONSISTED OF AT LEAST ONE YOGA SESSION WITH SOME TYPE OF HEALTH ASSESSMENT; (2) TARGETED ADULTS AGED >/=18 YEARS; (3) WAS PUBLISHED IN AN ENGLISH-LANGUAGE PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL; AND (4) WAS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: OF 3,062 STUDIES IDENTIFIED, 465 STUDIES IN 30 COUNTRIES WERE INCLUDED. ANALYSES WERE CONDUCTED THROUGH 2013. MOST INTERVENTIONS TOOK PLACE IN INDIA (N=228) OR THE U.S. (N=124), WITH INTENSITY RANGING FROM A SINGLE YOGA SESSION UP TO TWO SESSIONS PER DAY. INTERVENTION LENGTHS RANGED FROM ONE SESSION TO 2 YEARS. ASANAS (POSES) WERE MENTIONED AS YOGA COMPONENTS IN 369 (79%) INTERVENTIONS, BUT WERE EITHER MINIMALLY OR NOT AT ALL DESCRIBED IN 200 (54%) OF THESE. MOST INTERVENTIONS (74%, N=336) DID NOT INCLUDE HOME PRACTICE. OF THE INCLUDED STUDIES, 151 WERE RCTS. RCT QUALITY WAS RATED AS POOR. CONCLUSIONS: THIS REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS THE INADEQUATE REPORTING AND METHODOLOGIC LIMITATIONS OF CURRENT YOGA INTERVENTION RESEARCH, WHICH LIMITS STUDY INTERPRETATION AND COMPARABILITY. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE METHODOLOGY AND REPORTING ARE DISCUSSED. 2014