1 2612 96 YOGA FOR RHEUMATIC DISEASES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. OBJECTIVE: TO EVALUATE THE QUALITY OF EVIDENCE AND THE STRENGTH OF RECOMMENDATION FOR YOGA AS AN ANCILLARY INTERVENTION IN RHEUMATIC DISEASES. METHODS: MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY AND INDMED WERE SEARCHED THROUGH FEBRUARY 2013. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) COMPARING YOGA WITH CONTROL INTERVENTIONS IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATIC DISEASES WERE INCLUDED. TWO AUTHORS INDEPENDENTLY ASSESSED THE RISK OF BIAS USING THE COCHRANE BACK REVIEW GROUP RISK OF BIAS TOOL. THE QUALITY OF EVIDENCE AND THE STRENGTH OF THE RECOMMENDATION FOR OR AGAINST YOGA WERE GRADED ACCORDING TO THE GRADE RECOMMENDATIONS. RESULTS: EIGHT RCTS WITH A TOTAL OF 559 SUBJECTS WERE INCLUDED; TWO RCTS HAD A LOW RISK OF BIAS. IN TWO RCTS ON FM SYNDROME, THERE WAS VERY LOW EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS ON PAIN AND LOW EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS ON DISABILITY. IN THREE RCTS ON OA, THERE WAS VERY LOW EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS ON PAIN AND DISABILITY. BASED ON TWO RCTS, VERY LOW EVIDENCE WAS FOUND FOR EFFECTS ON PAIN IN RA. NO EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS ON PAIN WAS FOUND IN ONE RCT ON CTS. NO RCT EXPLICITLY REPORTED SAFETY DATA. CONCLUSION: BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THIS REVIEW, ONLY WEAK RECOMMENDATIONS CAN BE MADE FOR THE ANCILLARY USE OF YOGA IN THE MANAGEMENT OF FM SYNDROME, OA AND RA AT THIS POINT. 2013 2 1055 38 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON CHRONIC NECK PAIN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. [PURPOSE] THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC NECK PAIN. [SUBJECTS AND METHODS] FIVE ELECTRONIC DATABASES WERE SEARCHED TO IDENTIFY RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) OF YOGA INTERVENTION ON CHRONIC NECK PAIN. THE TRIALS WERE PUBLISHED IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE BETWEEN JANUARY 1966 AND DECEMBER 2015. THE COCHRANE RISK OF BIAS TOOL WAS USED TO ASSESS THE QUALITY OF THE TRIALS. [RESULTS] THREE TRIALS WERE IDENTIFIED AND INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW. A CRITICAL APPRAISAL WAS PERFORMED ON THE TRIALS, AND THE RESULT INDICATED A HIGH RISK OF BIAS. A NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION WAS PROCESSED BECAUSE OF THE SMALL NUMBER OF RCTS. NECK PAIN INTENSITY AND FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN THE YOGA GROUPS THAN IN THE CONTROL GROUPS. [CONCLUSION] EVIDENCE FROM THE 3 RANDOMLY CONTROLLED TRIALS SHOWS THAT YOGA MAY BE BENEFICIAL FOR CHRONIC NECK PAIN. THE LOW-QUALITY RESULT OF THE CRITICAL APPRAISAL AND THE SMALL NUMBER OF TRIALS SUGGEST THAT HIGH-QUALITY RCTS ARE REQUIRED TO EXAMINE FURTHER THE EFFECTS OF YOGA INTERVENTION ON CHRONIC NECK PAIN RELIEF. 2016 3 231 67 A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF YOGA FOR HEART DISEASE. BACKGROUND: THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) AIMED TO EVALUATE THE QUALITY OF EVIDENCE AND THE STRENGTH OF RECOMMENDATION FOR YOGA AS AN ANCILLARY INTERVENTION FOR HEART DISEASE. METHODS: MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, AND INDMED WERE SEARCHED UP TO OCTOBER 2013. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES WERE MORTALITY, NONFATAL CARDIAC EVENTS, EXERCISE CAPACITY, HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE, AND MODIFIABLE CARDIAC RISK FACTORS. RISK OF BIAS, QUALITY OF EVIDENCE, AND THE STRENGTH OF THE RECOMMENDATION FOR OR AGAINST YOGA WERE ASSESSED ACCORDING TO THE COCHRANE COLLABORATION AND GRADE RECOMMENDATIONS. RESULTS: SEVEN RCTS WITH 624 PATIENTS COMPARING YOGA TO USUAL CARE WERE INCLUDED. FOR CORONARY HEART DISEASE (FOUR RCTS), THERE WAS VERY LOW EVIDENCE FOR NO EFFECT ON MORTALITY, FOR A REDUCED NUMBER OF ANGINA EPISODES, AND FOR INCREASED EXERCISE CAPACITY, AND LOW EVIDENCE FOR REDUCED MODIFIABLE CARDIAC RISK FACTORS. FOR HEART FAILURE (TWO RCTS), THERE WAS VERY LOW EVIDENCE FOR NO EFFECT ON MORTALITY, AND LOW EVIDENCE FOR INCREASED EXERCISE CAPACITY, AND FOR NO EFFECT ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE. FOR CARDIAC DYSRHYTHMIAS TREATED WITH IMPLANTABLE CARDIOVERTER-DEFIBRILLATOR (ONE RCT), THERE WAS VERY LOW EVIDENCE FOR NO EFFECT ON MORTALITY, AND FOR IMPROVED QUALITY, AND LOW EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS ON NONFATAL DEVICE-TREATED VENTRICULAR EVENTS. THREE RCTS REPORTED SAFETY DATA AND REPORTED THAT NO ADVERSE EVENTS OCCURRED. CONCLUSIONS: BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THIS REVIEW, WEAK RECOMMENDATIONS CAN BE MADE FOR THE ANCILLARY USE OF YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH CORONARY HEART DISEASE, HEART FAILURE, AND CARDIAC DYSRHYTHMIA AT THIS POINT. 2015 4 1064 37 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON IMMUNE FUNCTION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. OBJECTIVE: THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW ATTEMPTS TO CONFIRM THE ADDED EVIDENCE TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON IMMUNE FUNCTION. METHODS: THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, EMBASE, PSYCINFO, PUBMED, AND WEB OF SCIENCE ELECTRONIC DATABASES WERE SEARCHED ACCORDING TO THE PRISRMA METHOD TO IDENTIFY RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) ON THE IMMUNOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF YOGA PUBLISHED IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE FROM JANUARY 1, 2017, TO DECEMBER 31, 2020. THIS REVIEW COULD ONLY BE DESCRIPTIVELY SUMMARIZED BECAUSE OF HETEROGENEITY OF THE INCLUDED RCTS. RESULTS: ELEVEN POTENTIAL TRIALS WERE IDENTIFIED AND INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW. QUALITY APPRAISAL OF INCLUDED TRIALS RANGED FROM 3 FOR UNCLEAR RISK OF BIAS AND 8 FOR HIGH RISK OF BIAS. THERE IS EVIDENCE FROM 11 RCTS THAT YOGA MAY HAVE FAVORABLE EFFECTS FOR REDUCING THE LEVELS OF ANTI-INFLAMMATORY MARKERS. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA MAY BE USED AS A COMPLEMENTARY INTERVENTION FOR CLINICAL POPULATIONS OR HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS. 2021 5 2573 45 YOGA FOR ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS THOUGHT TO BE EFFECTIVE FOR HEALTH CONDITIONS. THE ARTICLE AIMS TO ASSESS THE CURRENT CLINICAL EVIDENCE OF YOGA FOR ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION (EH). STRATEGY: MEDLINE, EMBASE, AND THE COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS (CENTRAL) IN THE COCHRANE LIBRARY WERE SEARCHED UNTIL JUNE, 2013. WE INCLUDED RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIALS TESTING YOGA AGAINST CONVENTIONAL THERAPY, YOGA VERSUS NO TREATMENT, YOGA COMBINED WITH CONVENTIONAL THERAPY VERSUS CONVENTIONAL THERAPY OR CONVENTIONAL THERAPY COMBINED WITH BREATH AWARENESS. STUDY SELECTION, DATA EXTRACTION, QUALITY ASSESSMENT, AND DATA ANALYSES WERE CONDUCTED ACCORDING TO THE COCHRANE STANDARDS. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 6 STUDIES (INVOLVING 386 PATIENTS) WERE INCLUDED. THE METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY OF THE INCLUDED TRIALS WAS EVALUATED AS GENERALLY LOW. A TOTAL OF 6 RCTS MET ALL THE INCLUSION CRITERIA. 4 OF THEM COMPARED YOGA PLUS CONVENTIONAL THERAPY WITH CONVENTIONAL THERAPY. 1 RCT DESCRIBED YOGA COMBINED WITH CONVENTIONAL THERAPY VERSUS CONVENTIONAL THERAPY COMBINED WITH BREATH AWARENESS. 2 RCT TESTED THE EFFECT OF YOGA VERSUS CONVENTIONAL THERAPY ALONE. 1 RCT DESCRIBED YOGA COMPARED TO NO TREATMENT. ONLY ONE TRIAL REPORTED ADVERSE EVENTS WITHOUT DETAILS, THE SAFETY OF YOGA IS STILL UNCERTAIN. CONCLUSIONS: THERE IS SOME ENCOURAGING EVIDENCE OF YOGA FOR LOWERING SBP AND DBP. HOWEVER, DUE TO LOW METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY OF THESE IDENTIFIED TRIALS, A DEFINITE CONCLUSION ABOUT THE EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF YOGA ON EH CANNOT BE DRAWN FROM THIS REVIEW. THEREFORE, FURTHER THOROUGH INVESTIGATION, LARGE-SCALE, PROPER STUDY DESIGNED, RANDOMIZED TRIALS OF YOGA FOR HYPERTENSION WILL BE REQUIRED TO JUSTIFY THE EFFECTS REPORTED HERE. 2013 6 1031 44 EFFECTS OF YOGA EXERCISES FOR HEADACHES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. [PURPOSE] TO ASSESS THE EVIDENCE FOR THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA EXERCISES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF HEADACHES. [SUBJECTS AND METHODS] A SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED OF SIX ELECTRONIC DATABASES TO IDENTIFY RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) REPORTING THE EFFECTS OF YOGIC INTERVENTION ON HEADACHES PUBLISHED IN ANY LANGUAGE BEFORE JANUARY 2015. QUALITY ASSESSMENT WAS CONDUCTED USING THE COCHRANE RISK OF BIAS TOOL. [RESULTS] ONE POTENTIAL TRIAL WAS IDENTIFIED AND INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW. THE QUALITY CRITICAL APPRAISAL INDICATED A MODERATE RISK OF BIAS. THE AVAILABLE DATA COULD ONLY BE INCLUDED AS A NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION. HEADACHE INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY, ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCORES, AND SYMPTOMATIC MEDICATION USE WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN THE YOGA GROUP COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP. [CONCLUSION] THERE IS EVIDENCE FROM ONE RCT THAT YOGA EXERCISES MAY BE BENEFICIAL FOR HEADACHES. HOWEVER, THE FINDINGS SHOULD BE INTERPRETED WITH CAUTION DUE TO THE SMALL NUMBER OF RCTS. THEREFORE, FURTHER RIGOROUS METHODOLOGICAL AND HIGH QUALITY RCTS ARE REQUIRED TO INVESTIGATE THE HYPOTHESIS THAT YOGA EXERCISES ALLEVIATE HEADACHES, AND TO CONFIRM AND FURTHER COMPREHEND THE EFFECTS OF STANDARDIZED YOGA PROGRAMS ON HEADACHES. 2015 7 2589 35 YOGA FOR LOW BACK PAIN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIALS. IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED THAT YOGA HAS A POSITIVE EFFECT ON LOW BACK PAIN AND FUNCTION. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WAS TO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA AS A TREATMENT OPTION FOR LOW BACK PAIN. SEVEN DATABASES WERE SEARCHED FROM THEIR INCEPTION TO MARCH 2011. RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIALS WERE CONSIDERED IF THEY INVESTIGATED YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH LOW BACK PAIN AND IF THEY ASSESSED PAIN AS AN OUTCOME MEASURE. THE SELECTION OF STUDIES, DATA EXTRACTION AND VALIDATION WERE PERFORMED INDEPENDENTLY BY TWO REVIEWERS. SEVEN RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED CLINICAL TRIALS (RCTS) MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA. THEIR METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY RANGED BETWEEN 2 AND 4 ON THE JADAD SCALE. FIVE RCTS SUGGESTED THAT YOGA LEADS TO A SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER REDUCTION IN LOW BACK PAIN THAN USUAL CARE, EDUCATION OR CONVENTIONAL THERAPEUTIC EXERCISES. TWO RCTS SHOWED NO BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCES. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT YOGA HAS THE POTENTIAL TO ALLEVIATE LOW BACK PAIN. HOWEVER, ANY DEFINITIVE CLAIMS SHOULD BE TREATED WITH CAUTION. 2011 8 223 45 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 9 1043 39 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 10 1519 38 IS YOGA EFFECTIVE FOR PAIN? A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIALS. OBJECTIVE: THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WAS TO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA AS A TREATMENT OPTION FOR ANY TYPE OF PAIN. METHOD: SEVEN DATABASES WERE SEARCHED FROM THEIR INCEPTION TO FEBRUARY 2011. RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIALS WERE CONSIDERED IF THEY INVESTIGATED YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH ANY TYPE OF PAIN AND IF THEY ASSESSED PAIN AS A PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE. THE 5-POINT JADAD SCALE WAS USED TO ASSESS METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY OF STUDIES. THE SELECTION OF STUDIES, DATA EXTRACTION AND QUALITY ASSESSMENT WERE PERFORMED INDEPENDENTLY BY TWO REVIEWERS. RESULTS: TEN RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIALS (RCTS) MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA. THEIR METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY RANGED BETWEEN 1 AND 4 ON THE JADAD SCALE. NINE RCTS SUGGESTED THAT YOGA LEADS TO A SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER REDUCTION IN PAIN THAN VARIOUS CONTROL INTERVENTIONS SUCH AS STANDARD CARE, SELF CARE, THERAPEUTIC EXERCISES, RELAXING YOGA, TOUCH AND MANIPULATION, OR NO INTERVENTION. ONE RCT FAILED TO PROVIDE BETWEEN GROUP DIFFERENCES IN PAIN SCORES. CONCLUSIONS: IT IS CONCLUDED THAT YOGA HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR ALLEVIATING PAIN. HOWEVER, DEFINITIVE JUDGMENTS ARE NOT POSSIBLE. 2011 11 2742 42 YOGA PRACTICE FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF TYPE II DIABETES MELLITUS IN ADULTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. THE EFFECT OF PRACTICING YOGA FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF TYPE II DIABETES WAS ASSESSED IN THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW THROUGH SEARCHING RELATED ELECTRONIC DATABASES AND THE GREY LITERATURE TO THE END OF MAY 2007 USING OVID. ALL RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED CLINICAL TRIALS (RCTS) COMPARING YOGA PRACTICE WITH OTHER TYPE OF INTERVENTION OR WITH REGULAR PRACTICE OR BOTH, WERE INCLUDED REGARDLESS OF LANGUAGE OR TYPE OF PUBLICATION. EACH STUDY WAS ASSESSED FOR QUALITY BY TWO INDEPENDENT REVIEWERS. MEAN DIFFERENCE WAS USED FOR SUMMARIZING THE EFFECT OF EACH STUDY OUTCOMES WITH 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS. POOLING OF THE STUDIES DID NOT TAKE PLACE DUE TO THE WIDE CLINICAL VARIATION BETWEEN THE STUDIES. PUBLICATION BIAS WAS ASSESSED BY STATISTICAL METHODS. FIVE TRIALS WITH 363 PARTICIPANTS MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA WITH MEDIUM TO HIGH RISK OF BIAS AND DIFFERENT INTERVENTION CHARACTERISTICS. THE STUDIES' RESULTS SHOW IMPROVEMENT IN OUTCOMES AMONG PATIENTS WITH DIABETES TYPE II. THESE IMPROVEMENTS WERE MAINLY AMONG SHORT TERM OR IMMEDIATE DIABETES OUTCOMES AND NOT ALL WERE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. THE RESULTS WERE INCONCLUSIVE AND NOT SIGNIFICANT FOR THE LONG-TERM OUTCOMES. NO ADVERSE EFFECTS WERE REPORTED IN ANY OF THE INCLUDED STUDIES. SHORT-TERM BENEFITS FOR PATIENTS WITH DIABETES MAY BE ACHIEVED FROM PRACTICING YOGA. FURTHER RESEARCH IS NEEDED IN THIS AREA. FACTORS LIKE QUALITY OF THE TRIALS AND OTHER METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES SHOULD BE IMPROVED BY LARGE RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS WITH ALLOCATION CONCEALMENT TO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA ON DIABETES TYPE II. A DEFINITIVE RECOMMENDATION FOR PHYSICIANS TO ENCOURAGE THEIR PATIENTS TO PRACTICE YOGA CANNOT BE REACHED AT PRESENT. 2010 12 2540 52 YOGA FOR ANXIETY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. YOGA HAS BECOME A POPULAR APPROACH TO IMPROVE EMOTIONAL HEALTH. THE AIM OF THIS REVIEW WAS TO SYSTEMATICALLY ASSESS AND META-ANALYZE THE EFFECTIVENESS AND SAFETY OF YOGA FOR ANXIETY. MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, PSYCINFO, AND INDMED WERE SEARCHED THROUGH OCTOBER 2016 FOR RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) OF YOGA FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH ANXIETY DISORDERS OR ELEVATED LEVELS OF ANXIETY. THE PRIMARY OUTCOMES WERE ANXIETY AND REMISSION RATES, AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES WERE DEPRESSION, QUALITY OF LIFE, AND SAFETY. RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE TOOL. EIGHT RCTS WITH 319 PARTICIPANTS (MEAN AGE: 30.0-38.5 YEARS) WERE INCLUDED. RISK OF SELECTION BIAS WAS UNCLEAR FOR MOST RCTS. META-ANALYSES REVEALED EVIDENCE FOR SMALL SHORT-TERM EFFECTS OF YOGA ON ANXIETY COMPARED TO NO TREATMENT (STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE [SMD] = -0.43; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI] = -0.74, -0.11; P = .008), AND LARGE EFFECTS COMPARED TO ACTIVE COMPARATORS (SMD = -0.86; 95% CI = -1.56, -0.15; P = .02). SMALL EFFECTS ON DEPRESSION WERE FOUND COMPARED TO NO TREATMENT (SMD = -0.35; 95% CI = -0.66, -0.04; P = .03). EFFECTS WERE ROBUST AGAINST POTENTIAL METHODOLOGICAL BIAS. NO EFFECTS WERE FOUND FOR PATIENTS WITH ANXIETY DISORDERS DIAGNOSED BY DIAGNOSTIC AND STATISTICAL MANUAL CRITERIA, ONLY FOR PATIENTS DIAGNOSED BY OTHER METHODS, AND FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH ELEVATED LEVELS OF ANXIETY WITHOUT A FORMAL DIAGNOSIS. ONLY THREE RCTS REPORTED SAFETY-RELATED DATA BUT THESE INDICATED THAT YOGA WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED INJURIES. IN CONCLUSION, YOGA MIGHT BE AN EFFECTIVE AND SAFE INTERVENTION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH ELEVATED LEVELS OF ANXIETY. THERE WAS INCONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS OF YOGA IN ANXIETY DISORDERS. MORE HIGH-QUALITY STUDIES ARE NEEDED AND ARE WARRANTED GIVEN THESE PRELIMINARY FINDINGS AND PLAUSIBLE MECHANISMS OF ACTION. 2018 13 1109 38 EFFECTS OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN HEALTHY OLDER ADULTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. BACKGROUND: THE WORLD'S ELDERLY POPULATION IS GROWING. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY HAS POSITIVE EFFECTS ON HEALTH AND COGNITION, BUT IS DECREASING AMONG THE ELDERLY. INTEREST IN YOGA-BASED EXERCISES HAS INCREASED IN THIS POPULATION, ESPECIALLY AS AN INTERVENTION TARGETING BALANCE, FLEXIBILITY, STRENGTH, AND WELL-BEING. RECENT INTEREST HAS ARISEN REGARDING YOGA'S POTENTIAL BENEFITS FOR COGNITION. OBJECTIVE: TO SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEW EVIDENCE FROM RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING IN HEALTHY ADULTS AGED >/=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 14 590 41 DETERMINING THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF YOGA IN CHRONIC STROKE CARE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND: SURVIVORS OF STROKE HAVE LONG-TERM PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES THAT IMPACT THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE. FEW INTERVENTIONS ARE AVAILABLE IN THE COMMUNITY TO ADDRESS THESE PROBLEMS. YOGA, A TYPE OF MINDFULNESS-BASED INTERVENTION, IS SHOWN TO BE EFFECTIVE IN PEOPLE WITH OTHER CHRONIC ILLNESSES AND MAY HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO ADDRESS MANY OF THE PROBLEMS REPORTED BY SURVIVORS OF STROKE. OBJECTIVES: TO DATE ONLY NARRATIVE REVIEWS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED. WE SOUGHT TO PERFORM, THE FIRST SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WITH META-ANALYSES OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) THAT INVESTIGATED YOGA FOR ITS POTENTIAL BENEFIT FOR CHRONIC SURVIVORS OF STROKE. METHODS: OVID MEDLINE, CINHAL PLUS, AMED, PUBMED, PSYCHINFO, PEDRO, COCHRANE DATABASE, SPORT DISCUSS, AND GOOGLE SCHOLAR WERE SEARCHED FOR PAPERS PUBLISHED BETWEEN JANUARY 1950 AND AUGUST 2016. REFERENCE LISTS OF INCLUDED PAPERS, REVIEW ARTICLES AND OPENGREY FOR GREY LITERATURE WERE ALSO SEARCHED. WE USED A MODIFIED COCHRANE TOOL TO EVALUATE RISK OF BIAS. THE METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY OF RCTS WAS ASSESSED USING THE GRADE APPROACH, RESULTS WERE COLLATED, AND RANDOM EFFECTS META-ANALYSES PERFORMED WHERE APPROPRIATE. RESULTS: THE SEARCH YIELDED FIVE ELIGIBLE PAPERS FROM FOUR RCTS WITH SMALL SAMPLE SIZES (N = 17-47). QUALITY OF RCTS WAS RATED AS LOW TO MODERATE. YOGA IS BENEFICIAL IN REDUCING STATE ANXIETY SYMPTOMS AND DEPRESSION IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP (MEAN DIFFERENCES FOR STATE ANXIETY 6.05, 95% CI:-0.02 TO 12.12; P = 0.05 AND STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCES FOR DEPRESSION: 0.50, 95% CI:-0.01 TO 1.02; P = 0.05). CONSISTENT BUT NONSIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS WERE DEMONSTRATED FOR BALANCE, TRAIT ANXIETY, AND OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA MAY BE EFFECTIVE FOR AMELIORATING SOME OF THE LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES OF STROKE. LARGE WELL-DESIGNED RCTS ARE NEEDED TO CONFIRM THESE FINDINGS. 2017 15 1516 33 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 16 1202 33 EXERCISE, YOGA, AND TAI CHI FOR TREATMENT OF MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER IN OUTPATIENT SETTINGS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. OBJECTIVE: EXERCISE, YOGA, AND TAI CHI ARE COMMONLY USED COMPLEMENTARY APPROACHES FOR HEALTH AND WELLNESS. THIS REVIEW AIMS TO SYNTHESIZE THE EVIDENCE FOR EXERCISE, YOGA, AND TAI CHI IN THE OUTPATIENT TREATMENT OF MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER. STUDY SELECTION: A SYSTEMATIC SEARCH OF THE OVID MEDLINE, EMBASE, PSYCINFO, AND COCHRANE DATABASES WAS CONDUCTED FOR RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS OF EXERCISE, YOGA, AND TAI CHI FOR MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER. DATA EXTRACTION: STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCES WERE CALCULATED AND META-ANALYZED USING A RANDOM EFFECTS MULTILEVEL MODELING FRAMEWORK. HETEROGENEITY AND SUBGROUP ANALYSIS WAS CONDUCTED. RESULTS: TWENTY-FIVE STUDIES WERE INCLUDED FOR FINAL ANALYSIS (EXERCISE: 15, YOGA: 7, TAI CHI: 3). OVERALL, META-ANALYSIS SHOWED A MODERATE SIGNIFICANT CLINICAL EFFECT. HOWEVER, WHEN ONLY STUDIES (6 STUDIES) WITH THE LOWEST RISK OF BIAS WERE INCLUDED, THE OVERALL EFFECT SIZE WAS REDUCED TO LOW TO MODERATE EFFICACY. OVERALL QUALITY OF EVIDENCE WAS LOW. HETEROGENEITY AND PUBLICATION BIAS WERE HIGH. CONCLUSIONS: THE CURRENT META-ANALYSIS OF OUTPATIENT EXERCISE, YOGA, AND TAI CHI FOR TREATMENT OF MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER SUGGESTS THAT ADJUNCTIVE EXERCISE AND YOGA MAY HAVE SMALL ADDITIVE CLINICAL EFFECTS IN COMPARISON TO CONTROL FOR REDUCING DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS. THE EVIDENCE FOR TAI CHI IS INSUFFICIENT TO DRAW CONCLUSIONS. THE CONCERNS WITH QUALITY OF STUDIES, HIGH HETEROGENEITY, AND EVIDENCE OF PUBLICATION BIAS PRECLUDE MAKING FIRM CONCLUSIONS. 2020 17 1058 49 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON EATING DISORDERS-A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. BACKGROUND: THE QUESTION OF WHETHER YOGA PRACTICE AMELIORATES OR EVEN AGGRAVATES EATING DISORDERS IS CURRENTLY UNDER DEBATE. THE AIM OF THIS REVIEW WAS TO SYSTEMATICALLY ASSESS AND THE EFFECTIVENESS AND SAFETY OF YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH EATING DISORDERS. METHODS: MEDLINE/PUBMED, PSYCINFO, AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE COLLECTION WERE SCREENED THROUGH JULY 2018 FOR RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS, NON-RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS AND LONGITUDINAL OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES ON YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH EATING DISORDERS AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS WITH DISORDERED EATING AND/OR BODY DISSATISFACTION. RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE RISK OF BIAS TOOL AND THE NEWCASTLE-OTTAWA QUALITY ASSESSMENT SCALE. RESULTS: EIGHT RANDOMIZED TRIALS AND FOUR UNCONTROLLED TRIALS INVOLVING A TOTAL OF 495 PARTICIPANTS WERE INCLUDED. RISK OF BIAS WAS MIXED. COMPARING YOGA TO UNTREATED CONTROL GROUPS, EFFECT SIZES RANGED FROM NEGLIGIBLE EFFECTS OF D=0.02 TO VERY LARGE EFFECTS OF D=2.15. HOWEVER, MOST EFFECTS WERE SMALL TO MODERATELY SIZED AND IN MOST CASES NOT SIGNIFICANT. NO SAFETY-RELATED DATA WERE REPORTED. CONCLUSIONS: THERE IS LIMITED EVIDENCE ON THE EFFECTIVENESS AND SAFETY OF YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH EATING DISORDERS. YOGA CAN BE PRELIMINARILY CONSIDERED AS AN ADDITIONAL TREATMENT OPTION IN MULTIMODAL PSYCHIATRIC TREATMENT PROGRAMS. 2019 18 1829 33 PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF YOGA NIDRA IN WOMEN WITH MENSTRUAL DISORDERS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. OBJECTIVE: TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF YOGA NIDRA ON PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS IN WOMEN WITH MENSTRUAL DISORDERS. METHODS: A SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED USING CINAHL, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, EMBASE, PSYCINFO, AND PUBMED ELECTRONIC DATABASES, AND USING THE PREFERRED REPORTING ITEMS FOR SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS AND META-ANALYSES (PRISMA), TO IDENTIFY RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) PUBLISHED IN ANY LANGUAGE UP TO AND INCLUDING JULY 2016, WHICH REPORTED THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF YOGA NIDRA IN WOMEN WITH MENSTRUAL DISORDERS. RESULTS: TWO POTENTIAL TRIALS WERE IDENTIFIED AND BOTH WERE INCLUDED IN THE REVIEW. A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS OBSERVED BETWEEN EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS IN THAT ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION WERE SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP WHEN COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: THERE IS EVIDENCE FROM TWO RCTS THAT YOGA NIDRA MAY HAVE FAVORABLE EFFECTS IN TERMS OF REDUCING PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS IN WOMEN WITH MENSTRUAL DISORDERS. 2017 19 1077 43 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PSYCHOLOGIC FUNCTION AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER: A META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. OBJECTIVE: THE AIM OF THIS META-ANALYSIS WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PSYCHOLOGIC FUNCTION AND QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) IN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER. DESIGN: A SYSTEMATIC SEARCH OF PUBMED, EMBASE, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, THE CHINESE BIOMEDICAL LITERATURE DATABASE, AND THE CHINESE DIGITAL JOURNALS FULL-TEXT DATABASE WAS CARRIED OUT. RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS (RCTS) EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF YOGA, VERSUS A CONTROL GROUP RECEIVING NO INTERVENTION, ON PSYCHOLOGIC FUNCTIONING AND QOL IN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER WERE INCLUDED. METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY OF INCLUDED RCTS WAS ASSESSED ACCORDING TO THE COCHRANE HANDBOOK FOR SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS OF INTERVENTIONS 5.0.1, AND DATA WERE ANALYZED USING THE COCHRANE COLLABORATION'S REVIEW MANAGER 5.1. RESULTS: SIX (6) STUDIES INVOLVING 382 PATIENTS WERE INCLUDED. THE META-ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT YOGA CAN IMPROVE QOL FOR WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER. A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT EFFECT FAVORING YOGA FOR THE OUTCOME OF QOL WAS FOUND (STANDARD MEAN DIFFERENCE=0.27, 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [0.02, 0.52], P=0.03). ALTHOUGH THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PSYCHOLOGIC FUNCTION OUTCOMES--SUCH AS ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, DISTRESS AND SLEEP--WERE IN THE EXPECTED DIRECTION, THESE EFFECTS WERE NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT (P>0.05). FATIGUE SHOWED NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: THE PRESENT DATA PROVIDED LITTLE INDICATION OF HOW EFFECTIVE YOGA MIGHT BE WHEN THEY WERE APPLIED BY WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER EXCEPT FOR MILDLY EFFECTIVE IN QOL IMPROVEMENT. THE FINDINGS WERE BASED ON A SMALL BODY OF EVIDENCE IN WHICH METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY WAS NOT HIGH. FURTHER WELL-DESIGNED RCTS WITH LARGE SAMPLE SIZE ARE NEEDED TO CLARIFY THE UTILITY OF YOGA PRACTICE FOR THIS POPULATION. 2012 20 928 51 EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA ON ARTERIAL STIFFNESS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. OBJECTIVES: ARTERIAL STIFFNESS IS A MAJOR CARDIOVASCULAR (CV) RISK AND AN INDEPENDENT STRONG PREDICTOR OF CV MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY. THE AIM OF THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW IS TO EVALUATE THE CLINICAL OR INTERVENTIONAL STUDIES THAT ASSESSED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA ON ARTERIAL STIFFNESS IN PARTICIPANTS OF ANY AGE OR SEX, HEALTHY OR WITH ANY CONDITIONS. DESIGN: SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF CLINICAL TRIALS OR INTERVENTIONAL STUDIES. DATA SOURCES: COCHRANE LIBRARY, MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, AND GOOGLE SCHOLAR DATABASES. REVIEW METHODS: DATABASES WERE SEARCHED TILL JULY 2019 FOR CLINICAL TRIALS OR INTERVENTIONAL STUDIES WHETHER CONTROLLED OR UNCONTROLLED, RANDOMIZED OR NON-RANDOMIZED STUDIES ASSESSING THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON ARTERIAL STIFFNESS. QUALITY OF THE STUDIES WAS ASSESSED BY USING PHYSIOTHERAPY EVIDENCE DATABASE (PEDRO) SCALE. RESULTS: SEVEN FULL-TEXT ARTICLES (TOTAL NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS = 362) THAT EVALUATED THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON ARTERIAL STIFFNESS WERE INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW. THERE WERE THREE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDIES AND FOUR WERE NON-CONTROLLED STUDIES (SINGLE GROUP STUDIES). FOUR STUDIES HAVE SHOWN SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN ARTERIAL STIFFNESS, WHILE THREE STUDIES DID NOT FIND ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN ARTERIAL STIFFNESS. THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA INTERVENTION ON ARTERIAL STIFFNESS IN YOUNG ADULTS AND ELDERLY HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS ARE ENCOURAGING. METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY WAS GOOD FOR ONE STUDY, MODERATE FOR TWO STUDIES AND POOR FOR FOUR STUDIES. CONCLUSIONS: THIS REVIEW SHOWS THAT YOGA PRACTICE IS EFFECTIVE IN PREVENTING OR REDUCING THE ARTERIAL STIFFNESS IN YOUNG HEALTHY AND OBESE, AND ELDERLY HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS. AS THE METHODOLOGY OF MANY STUDIES IS OF LOW QUALITY AND SAFETY MEASURES WERE NOT REPORTED, THERE IS A NEED OF QUALITY RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS OF YOGA EFFECTS ON ARTERIAL STIFFNESS AMONG HIGH RISK INDIVIDUALS. 2020