1 1689 115 OVERVIEW OF SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS: YOGA AS A THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION FOR ADULTS WITH ACUTE AND CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS. OBJECTIVES. OVERVIEW THE QUALITY, DIRECTION, AND CHARACTERISTICS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR TREATMENT OF ACUTE AND CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS IN ADULT POPULATIONS. METHODS. WE SEARCHED FOR SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS IN 10 ONLINE DATABASES, BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES, AND HAND-SEARCHES IN YOGA-RELATED JOURNALS. INCLUDED REVIEWS SATISFY OXMAN CRITERIA AND SPECIFY YOGA AS A PRIMARY INTERVENTION IN ONE OR MORE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS FOR TREATMENT IN ADULTS. THE AMSTAR TOOL AND GRADE APPROACH EVALUATED THE METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY OF REVIEWS AND QUALITY OF EVIDENCE. RESULTS. WE IDENTIFIED 2202 TITLES, OF WHICH 41 FULL-TEXT ARTICLES WERE ASSESSED FOR ELIGIBILITY AND 26 SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS SATISFIED INCLUSION CRITERIA. THIRTEEN SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS INCLUDE QUANTITATIVE DATA AND SIX PAPERS INCLUDE META-ANALYSIS. THE QUALITY OF EVIDENCE IS GENERALLY LOW. SIXTEEN DIFFERENT TYPES OF HEALTH CONDITIONS ARE INCLUDED. ELEVEN REVIEWS SHOW TENDENCY TOWARDS POSITIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA INTERVENTION, 15 REVIEWS REPORT UNCLEAR RESULTS, AND NO, REVIEWS REPORT ADVERSE EFFECTS OF YOGA. YOGA APPEARS MOST EFFECTIVE FOR REDUCING SYMPTOMS IN ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND PAIN. CONCLUSION. ALTHOUGH THE QUALITY OF SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS IS HIGH, THE QUALITY OF SUPPORTING EVIDENCE IS LOW. SIGNIFICANT HETEROGENEITY AND VARIABILITY IN REPORTING INTERVENTIONS BY TYPE OF YOGA, SETTINGS, AND POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS LIMIT THE GENERALIZABILITY OF RESULTS. 2013 2 1064 33 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 3 2542 25 YOGA FOR ARTHRITIS: A SCOPING REVIEW. THIS ARTICLE REVIEWS THE EXISTING LITERATURE ON USING YOGA FOR ARTHRITIS. IT INCLUDES PEER-REVIEWED RESEARCH FROM CLINICAL TRIALS (PUBLISHED FROM 1980 TO 2010) THAT USED YOGA AS AN INTERVENTION FOR ARTHRITIS AND REPORTED QUANTITATIVE FINDINGS. ELEVEN STUDIES WERE IDENTIFIED, INCLUDING 4 RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) AND 4 NON-RCTS. ALL TRIALS WERE SMALL AND CONTROL GROUPS VARIED. NO ADVERSE EVENTS WERE REPORTED, AND ATTRITION WAS COMPARABLE OR BETTER THAN THAT TYPICAL FOR EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS. EVIDENCE WAS STRONGEST FOR REDUCED DISEASE SYMPTOMS (TENDER/SWOLLEN JOINTS, PAIN) AND DISABILITY AND FOR IMPROVED SELF-EFFICACY AND MENTAL HEALTH. INTERVENTIONS, RESEARCH METHODS, AND DISEASE DIAGNOSES WERE HETEROGENEOUS. 2011 4 1110 39 EFFECTS OF YOGA-RELATED MIND-BODY THERAPIES ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN OLDER ADULTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WITH META-ANALYSIS. OBJECTIVES: CONSIDERING DEMENTIA HAS NO DEFINITE CURATIVE INTERVENTION AVAILABLE THROUGH MODERN MEDICAL MANAGEMENT, ALTERNATIVE THERAPEUTIC SYMPTOMATIC INTERVENTIONS ARE NEEDED URGENTLY. THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WITH META-ANALYSIS EVALUATED WHETHER YOGA-RELATED PRACTICES, AS A PREVENTIVE MIND-BODY THERAPY, IS EFFECTIVE FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF COGNITIVE DECLINE IN OLDER ADULTS. METHODS: SEVEN ELECTRONIC DATABASES (ABSTRACTS IN SOCIAL GERONTOLOGY, AGE LINE, CINAHL, PSYCINFO, PUBMED, SCOPUS, AND WEB OF SCIENCE) WERE SEARCHED USING SPECIFIED INCLUSION CRITERIA TO IDENTIFY ORIGINAL STUDIES THAT INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA-RELATED MIND-BODY THERAPIES ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION, IN THE CONTEXT OF AGING. A META-ANALYSIS WAS ALSO CARRIED OUT CALCULATING THE OVERALL EFFECT SIZES, EXPRESSED AS STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCES (I.E., D). RESULTS: TWELVE STUDIES, INCLUDING 912 PARTICIPANTS (73.9% FEMALE; 239 WITH AND 673 WITHOUT COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT) WERE SELECTED FOR THIS REVIEW; ELEVEN WERE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. ONE STUDY HAD A HIGH RISK OF BIAS AND WAS EXCLUDED FROM THE META-ANALYSIS. STUDIES INVOLVED A WIDE VARIETY OF YOGA PRACTICES WITH A COMMON FOCUS ON MEDITATIVE POSTURAL EXERCISES. RESULTS REVEALED SIGNIFICANT BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON MEMORY (COHEN'S D = 0.38), EXECUTIVE FUNCTION (COHEN'S D = 0.40), AND ATTENTION AND PROCESSING SPEED (COHEN'S D = 0.33). NO ADVERSE EFFECTS WERE REPORTED. DISCUSSION: YOGA-RELATED MIND-BODY INTERVENTIONS FOR OLDER ADULTS APPEAR TO BE SAFE, FEASIBLE, AND EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE PRACTICE FOR MAINTENANCE OF COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS BOTH IN AGE- AND DISEASE-RELATED COGNITIVE DECLINE. PRACTICING YOGA CAN BE A USEFUL PART OF DAILY ROUTINE TO MAINTAIN COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN OLDER ADULTHOOD. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH WERE DISCUSSED. 2021 5 477 46 CLINICAL APPLICATIONS OF YOGA FOR THE PEDIATRIC POPULATION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. OBJECTIVE: THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE EVIDENCE FOR CLINICAL APPLICATIONS OF YOGA AMONG THE PEDIATRIC POPULATION. METHODS: WE CONDUCTED AN ELECTRONIC LITERATURE SEARCH INCLUDING CINAHL, COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS (CENTRAL), EMBASE, MEDLINE, PSYCINFO, AND MANUAL SEARCH OF RETRIEVED ARTICLES FROM INCEPTION OF EACH DATABASE UNTIL DECEMBER 2008. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) AND NONRANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (NRCTS) WERE SELECTED THAT INCLUDED YOGA OR YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS AGED 0 TO 21 YEARS. DATA WERE EXTRACTED AND ARTICLES CRITICALLY REVIEWED USING A MODIFIED JADAD SCORE AND DESCRIPTIVE METHODOLOGICAL CRITERIA, WITH SUMMARIZATION IN TABLES. RESULTS: THIRTY-FOUR CONTROLLED STUDIES PUBLISHED FROM 1979 TO 2008 WERE IDENTIFIED, WITH 19 RCTS AND 15 NRCTS. MANY STUDIES WERE OF LOW METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY. CLINICAL AREAS FOR WHICH YOGA HAS BEEN STUDIED INCLUDE PHYSICAL FITNESS, CARDIORESPIRATORY EFFECTS, MOTOR SKILLS/STRENGTH, MENTAL HEALTH AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS, BEHAVIOR AND DEVELOPMENT, IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME, AND BIRTH OUTCOMES FOLLOWING PRENATAL YOGA. NO ADVERSE EVENTS WERE REPORTED IN TRIALS REVIEWED. ALTHOUGH A LARGE MAJORITY OF STUDIES WERE POSITIVE, METHODOLOGICAL LIMITATIONS SUCH AS RANDOMIZATION METHODS, WITHDRAWAL/DROPOUTS, AND DETAILS OF YOGA INTERVENTION PRECLUDE CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE. CONCLUSIONS: THERE ARE LIMITED DATA ON THE CLINICAL APPLICATIONS OF YOGA AMONG THE PEDIATRIC POPULATION. MOST PUBLISHED CONTROLLED TRIALS WERE SUGGESTIVE OF BENEFIT, BUT RESULTS ARE PRELIMINARY BASED ON LOW QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF TRIALS. FURTHER RESEARCH OF YOGA FOR CHILDREN BY USING A HIGHER STANDARD OF METHODOLOGY AND REPORTING IS WARRANTED. 2009 6 230 39 A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF YOGA FOR BALANCE IN A HEALTHY POPULATION. OBJECTIVE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WAS DONE OF THE EVIDENCE ON YOGA FOR IMPROVING BALANCE. DESIGN: RELEVANT ARTICLES AND REVIEWS WERE IDENTIFIED IN MAJOR DATABASES (PUBMED, MEDLINE((R)), INDMED, WEB OF KNOWLEDGE, EMBASE, EBSCO, SCIENCE DIRECT, AND GOOGLE SCHOLAR), AND THEIR REFERENCE LISTS SEARCHED. KEY SEARCH WORDS WERE YOGA, BALANCE, PROPRIOCEPTION, FALLING, FEAR OF FALLING, AND FALLS. INCLUDED STUDIES WERE PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN ENGLISH BEFORE JUNE 2012, USING HEALTHY POPULATIONS. ALL YOGA STYLES AND STUDY DESIGNS WERE INCLUDED. TWO (2) RATERS INDIVIDUALLY RATED STUDY QUALITY USING THE DOWNS & BLACK (DB) CHECKLIST. FINAL SCORES WERE ACHIEVED BY CONSENSUS. ACHIEVABLE SCORES RANGED FROM 0 TO 27. EFFECT SIZE (ES) WAS CALCULATED WHERE POSSIBLE. RESULTS: FIFTEEN (15) OF 152 STUDIES (AGE RANGE 10-93, N=688) MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA: 5 RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS), 4 QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL, 2 CROSS-SECTIONAL, AND 4 SINGLE-GROUP DESIGNS. DB SCORES RANGED FROM 10 TO 24 (RCTS), 14-19 (QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL), 6-12 (CROSS-SECTIONAL), AND 11-20 (SINGLE GROUP). STUDIES VARIED BY YOGA STYLE, FREQUENCY OF PRACTICE, AND DURATION. ELEVEN (11) STUDIES FOUND POSITIVE RESULTS (P<0.05) ON AT LEAST ONE BALANCE OUTCOME. ES RANGED FROM -0.765 TO 2.71 (FOR 8 STUDIES) AND WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH DB SCORE. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA MAY HAVE A BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON BALANCE, BUT VARIABLE STUDY DESIGN AND POOR REPORTING QUALITY OBSCURE THE RESULTS. BALANCE AS AN OUTCOME IS UNDERUTILIZED, AND MORE PROBING MEASURES ARE NEEDED. 2014 7 541 40 COMPONENTS AND REPORTING OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS. OBJECTIVES: TO IDENTIFY THE CONTENT AND REPORTING DETAILS OF RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS OF YOGA FOR MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS THROUGH A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE. DESIGN: TWENTY ELECTRONIC DATABASES WERE SEARCHED TO IDENTIFY RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA WERE FULL-TEXT, PEER REVIEWED ARTICLES, OF RCTS WITH YOGA AS A PRIMARY INTERVENTION, ON A POPULATION AGED 18 YEARS AND OVER, WITH A CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS OF A MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITION. DATA RELATING TO STUDY CHARACTERISTICS, YOGA STYLES, YOGA PRACTICES, HOME PRACTICE, AND REPORTING WERE EXTRACTED AND SUMMARISED. RESULTS: SEVENTEEN ARTICLES MET INCLUSION CRITERIA, REPRESENTING FIVE MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS: LOW BACK PAIN, OSTEOARTHRITIS, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, KYPHOSIS, AND FIBROMYALGIA. 15 STUDIES WERE NON-RESIDENTIAL, AND TWO WERE RESIDENTIAL. STUDY DURATION RANGED FROM 1 TO 24 WEEKS; WEEKLY DOSAGE OF YOGA RANGED FROM 1 TO 56H. FIVE STYLES OF POSTURE-BASED HATHA YOGA WERE SPECIFIED. INTERVENTION CONTENT INCLUDED SEVEN YOGA PRACTISES: POSTURES, BREATHING, RELAXATION, MEDITATION, PHILOSOPHY, CHANTING, AND CLEANSING PRACTISES. TEN STUDIES EITHER ENCOURAGED OR REQUESTED HOME PRACTICE. REPORTING DETAILS INCLUDED CLASS PLANS, POSTURE LISTS, AND DIAGRAMS. DUE TO INSUFFICIENT DETAIL REGARDING DELIVERY OF THE YOGA INTERVENTION ONLY EIGHT OF THE 17 INTERVENTIONS WERE CONSIDERED REPLICABLE AS REPORTED. CONCLUSIONS: EVALUATION OF STUDY CHARACTERISTICS AND YOGA COMPONENTS INDICATED SEVERAL AREAS OF HOMOGENEITY ACROSS STUDIES, SUGGESTING AN EXISTING DEGREE OF STANDARDISATION. HOWEVER, HETEROGENEITY RELATED TO INTERVENTION CONTENT AND REPORTING IMPEDED DETERMINATION OF INTERVENTION CONTENT AND DELIVERY. STANDARDISATION OF CONTENT, NOMENCLATURE, AND REPORTING DETAILS IS RECOMMENDED TO ENHANCE PROTOCOL TRANSPARENCY, REPLICATION, AND COMPARISON OF INTERVENTION EFFECTIVENESS. 2014 8 317 32 AN INTEGRATED METHODOLOGY TO ASSESS COMPLIANCE WITH DELPHI SURVEY KEY COMPONENTS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS AS APPLIED IN A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF FIBROMYALGIA STUDIES. OBJECTIVE: THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS ARTICLE WAS TO PRESENT A METHODOLOGY INCORPORATING EXISTING GUIDELINES AND TOOLS FOR SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS AND TO EVALUATE THE DELPHI SURVEY 33 KEY COMPONENT RECOMMENDATIONS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS AS A TOOL FOR A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW IN FIBROMYALGIA STUDIES. DATA SOURCES: DATABASES SEARCHED INCLUDED PUBMED, OVID MEDLINE, PSYCHINFO, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, CINAHL, ALT HEALTHWATCH, PEDRO, AND WEB OF SCIENCE. ARTICLE SELECTION: SELECTED WERE ARTICLES PUBLISHED BETWEEN NOVEMBER 14, 2004 AND NOVEMBER 13, 2014, WRITTEN IN ENGLISH, REPORTING ORIGINAL RESEARCH OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR ADULTS WITH FIBROMYALGIA. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: SIX ARTICLES MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA, REVEALING THAT THREE YOGA STYLES ("RELAXING" YOGA, YOGA OF AWARENESS, AND HATHA YOGA) HAVE BEEN ASSESSED IN PERSONS WITH FIBROMYALGIA. OVERALL, REPORTING COMPLIANCE WITH THE 33 KEY COMPONENTS RANGED FROM 39.4% TO 84.8%, WITH A MEAN ADHERENCE RATE OF 62.63% +/- 17.74. NONE OF THE AUTHORS USED AN ACCEPTED REPORTING GUIDELINE; SPECIFIC COMPONENTS OF ASANA, PRANAYAMA, RELAXATION, AND MINDFULNESS PRACTICES THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN INCORPORATED INTO THE INTERVENTIONS TESTED WERE IDENTIFIED IN ONLY 33.33% OF THE ARTICLES REVIEWED; AND NONE OF THE ARTICLES INCLUDED DETAILED, REPLICABLE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INTERVENTIONS. CONCLUSIONS: THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW SUPPORTS THE NEED FOR COMPREHENSIVE YOGA RESEARCH GUIDELINES. FINDINGS REVEAL A LACK OF REPORTING OF INTERVENTION DETAILS, THE NEED TO REPORT A DISEASE-SPECIFIC RATIONALE FOR SELECTION OF THE PARTICULAR YOGA STYLE USED FOR THE INTERVENTION, AND THAT A LIMITED NUMBER OF YOGA STYLES HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATED IN PERSONS WITH FIBROMYALGIA. 2016 9 2439 37 YOGA AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN WOMEN WITH PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. INTRODUCTION: PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA IS A PREVALENT CONDITION CAUSING QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) REDUCTION FOR MANY WOMEN, RESULTING FROM PAIN AS WELL AS PARALLEL SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS. YOGA REDUCES PAIN AND SYMPATHETIC REACTIVITY, THUS PROMOTING QOL. THIS ARTICLE REPORTS A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE EVIDENCE FOR THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA AS A QOL IMPROVEMENT METHOD FOR WOMEN WITH PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA. METHODS: THE PRISMA GUIDELINES WERE USED IN PREPARATION OF THIS REVIEW. OVID MEDLINE, PSYCINFO, CINAHL, SCOPUS, PUBMED, SCIENCEDIRECT, COCHRANE DATABASE OF SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS (CDSR), AND COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS (CENTRAL) WERE SCREENED THROUGH JANUARY 2017 USING THE KEYWORDS YOGA, MEDITATION, MENSTRUAL CYCLE, DYSMENORRHEA, PELVIC PAIN, AND PROSTAGLANDINS. ENGLISH-LANGUAGE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) AND QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES REGARDING YOGA, PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA, AND QOL WERE ELIGIBLE; ALL YOGA STYLES WERE INCLUDED. TWO INDEPENDENT REVIEWERS RATED THE METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY OF EACH STUDY SELECTED FOR REVIEW USING THE DOWNS AND BLACK CHECKLIST; POSSIBLE SCORES RANGED FROM 0 TO 32. RATINGS WERE ESTABLISHED THROUGH CONSENSUS. RESULTS: THE SEARCH YIELDED A TOTAL OF 378 ARTICLES, OF WHICH 14 (AGE RANGE 13-45 YEARS, N = 1409) MET THE CRITERIA FOR FINAL REVIEW: 8 RCTS AND 6 QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES. DOWNS AND BLACK RATINGS WERE PREDOMINANTLY MODERATE IN QUALITY WITH MODERATE RISK OF BIAS, RANGING FROM 15 TO 23 (RCTS) AND 10 TO 17 (QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES). STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS ALONG MOST QOL DOMAINS, INCLUDING PHYSICAL PAIN, SLEEP, CONCENTRATION, NEGATIVE FEELINGS, SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS, WORK CAPACITY, AND OVERALL QOL, WERE IDENTIFIED AFTER A YOGA INTERVENTION. RESULTS INDICATE PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE FOR YOGA AS A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE QOL IMPROVEMENT METHOD FOR WOMEN WITH PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA. DISCUSSION: PRACTITIONERS MAY CONSIDER YOGA FOR MANAGEMENT OF PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA. HOWEVER, FUTURE RESEARCH USING LARGER RCTS OF HIGH METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY IS NEEDED TO ASCERTAIN THE MAGNITUDE OF YOGA'S CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE. 2018 10 318 39 AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW OF YOGA AND MINDFULNESS-BASED APPROACHES FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH ASTHMA. PROBLEM: ASTHMA AFFECTS ALMOST 15% OF CHILDREN IN THE UNITED STATES. DESPITE THE AVAILABILITY OF TREATMENTS AND EDUCATIONAL METHODS, CHILDREN WITH ASTHMA CONTINUE TO REPORT AN IMPAIRED QUALITY OF LIFE, INCLUDING SYMPTOMS OF ANXIETY AND INABILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. AS COMPLEMENTARY HEALTH APPROACHES ARE BECOMING MORE POPULAR AND SHOW PROMISE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF MANY CHRONIC DISEASES, THE PURPOSE OF THIS INTEGRATIVE REVIEW IS TO EXAMINE THE STATE OF THE SCIENCE REGARDING POPULAR COMPLEMENTARY HEALTH APPROACHES- YOGA AND MINDFULNESS- FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH ASTHMA. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: A COMPREHENSIVE SEARCH OF FIVE DATABASES FOR PEER REVIEWED ARTICLES WAS PERFORMED TO IDENTIFY EXPERIMENTAL AND NON-EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES. THE SEARCH FOR EACH DATABASE WAS PERFORMED FROM THE INCEPTION OF EACH TO JANUARY 2020 AND LIMITED TO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. THE SEARCH INCLUDED TERMINOLOGY THAT ADDRESSED THE CONCEPTS OF "ASTHMA", "YOGA" AND "MINDFULNESS". SAMPLE: A TOTAL OF ELEVEN ARTICLES MET THE CRITERIA FOR REVIEW FROM THE YEARS 1991 TO 2019. RESULTS: NINE PUBLICATIONS FOCUSED ON THE USE OF YOGA IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH ASTHMA AND TWO PUBLICATIONS FOCUSED ON MINDFULNESS IN ADOLESCENTS WITH ASTHMA. CONCLUSIONS: INTERVENTIONS INVOLVING EITHER MINDFULNESS OR YOGA MAY BE EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING STRESS AND ANXIETY AND IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE AND LUNG FUNCTION IN THIS POPULATION. IMPLICATIONS: MINDFULNESS INTERVENTION STUDIES IN THE PEDIATRIC AND ADOLESCENT ASTHMA POPULATION ARE WARRANTED AS ARE ADDITIONAL STUDIES THAT INCLUDE THE USE OF YOGA WITH SKILLS IN MINDFULNESS IN ORDER TO EVALUATE THEIR PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS. 2020 11 2440 33 YOGA AND QUALITY-OF-LIFE IMPROVEMENT IN PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER: A LITERATURE REVIEW. OBJECTIVE: WOMEN UNDERGOING TREATMENT FOR BREAST CANCER OFTEN TURN TO COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE (CAM), INCLUDING YOGA, FOR IMPROVEMENT OF MOOD, QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL), SLEEP, AND TREATMENT-RELATED SIDE EFFECTS. THE EXTANT LITERATURE WAS REVIEWED TO EXAMINE THE CLINICAL EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE ON QOL FOR PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER. QOL WAS DEFINED AS PHYSICAL WELL-BEING, SOCIAL FUNCTIONING, EMOTIONAL HEALTH, AND FUNCTION-AL ADAPTATION. METHODS: SEVEN DATABASES, INCLUDING PUBMED, OVID MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, PSYCINFO, COCHRANE LIBRARY, AND WEB OF SCIENCE WERE USED TO SEARCH FOR STUDIES OF PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER THAT INCLUDED A YOGA INTERVENTION AND QOL ASSESSMENT. ATTENTION WAS PAID TO ASSESSING STUDY POPULATION, OUTCOME VARIABLES, THE TYPE OF YOGA INTERVENTION USED, AND METHODOLOGICAL STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS. RESULTS: SEVENTY-ONE ARTICLES WERE IDENTIFIED THAT FIT THE SEARCH CRITERIA. ALTHOUGH THE LITERATURE PROVIDED EVIDENCE OF QOL BENEFITS OF YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER, NO SPECIFIC ASPECT OF YOGA WAS IDENTIFIED AS BEING MOST ADVANTAGEOUS. CONCLUSION: ALTHOUGH PARTICIPATION IN YOGA PROGRAMS APPEARED TO BENEFIT PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER, GREATER METHODOLOGICAL RIGOR IS REQUIRED TO UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISMS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR EFFECTIVENESS. 2012 12 590 46 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 13 1031 38 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 14 1737 37 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND YOGA-BASED APPROACHES FOR PREGNANCY-RELATED LOW BACK AND PELVIC PAIN. OBJECTIVE: TO CONDUCT AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW TO EVALUATE CURRENT LITERATURE ABOUT NONPHARMACOLOGIC, EASILY ACCESSIBLE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR PREGNANCY-RELATED LOW BACK AND PELVIC PAIN (PR-LBPP). DATA SOURCES: PUBMED, CINAHL, COCHRANE DATABASE OF SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS. STUDY SELECTION: ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLES WERE CONSIDERED FOR REVIEW IF THEY WERE FULL-LENGTH PUBLICATIONS WRITTEN IN ENGLISH AND PUBLISHED IN PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS FROM 2005 THROUGH 2015, INCLUDED MEASURES OF PAIN AND SYMPTOMS RELATED TO PR-LBPP, AND EVALUATED TREATMENT MODALITIES THAT USED A PHYSICAL EXERCISE OR YOGA-BASED APPROACH FOR THE DESCRIBED CONDITIONS. DATA EXTRACTION: ELECTRONIC DATABASE SEARCHES YIELDED 1,435 ARTICLES. A TOTAL OF 15 ARTICLES MET ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR FURTHER REVIEW. DATA SYNTHESIS: THESE MODALITIES SHOW PRELIMINARY PROMISE FOR PAIN RELIEF AND OTHER RELATED SYMPTOMS, INCLUDING STRESS AND DEPRESSION. HOWEVER, OUR FINDINGS ALSO INDICATE SEVERAL GAPS IN KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THESE THERAPIES FOR PR-LBPP AND METHODOLOGIC ISSUES WITH THE CURRENT LITERATURE. CONCLUSION: ALTHOUGH ADDITIONAL RESEARCH IS REQUIRED, THE RESULTS OF THIS INTEGRATIVE REVIEW SUGGEST THAT CLINICIANS MAY CONSIDER RECOMMENDING NONPHARMACOLOGIC TREATMENT OPTIONS, SUCH AS GENTLE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS, FOR PR-LBPP AND RELATED SYMPTOMS. 2017 15 2481 30 YOGA AS AN ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY TREATMENT FOR CANCER: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. OBJECTIVES: CANCER IS AN IMPORTANT PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN, WITH MILLIONS OF PATIENTS AFFECTED WORLDWIDE. GIVEN THE PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND PHYSIOLOGIC CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH CANCER, HOLISTIC THERAPIES ARE NEEDED TO TREAT ALL ASPECT OF THE DISEASE. DESIGN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WAS CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE THE EFFICACY OF YOGA AS A TREATMENT OPTION FOR CANCER SINCE 2010. INCLUDED STUDIES WERE PUBLISHED FROM JANUARY 2010 TO JULY 2012 AND WERE INDEXED IN MEDLINE, CINAHL, AND ALT HEALTHWATCH. RESULTS: THIRTEEN STUDIES MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA. EIGHT OF THESE STUDIES WERE PERFORMED IN THE UNITED STATES, AND ONE EACH WAS CONDUCTED IN SLOVENIA, ITALY, THE UNITED KINGDOM, CANADA, AND TURKEY. CONCLUSIONS: THE EVIDENCE FOR EFFICACY OF YOGA AS AN ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY TREATMENT FOR CANCER IS MIXED, ALTHOUGH GENERALLY POSITIVE. LIMITATIONS OF THE REVIEWED INTERVENTIONS INCLUDED A MIXED USE OF INSTRUMENTS, WEAK QUANTITATIVE DESIGNS, SMALL SAMPLE SIZES, AND A LACK OF THEORY-BASED STUDIES. 2013 16 1574 30 MANAGING LYMPHEDEMA, INCREASING RANGE OF MOTION, AND QUALITY OF LIFE THROUGH YOGA THERAPY AMONG BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. LYMPHEDEMA IS A COMMON COMPLICATION OF BREAST CANCER TREATMENT. YOGA IS A NONCONVENTIONAL AND NONINVASIVE INTERVENTION THAT IS REPORTED TO SHOW BENEFICIAL EFFECTS IN PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER-RELATED LYMPHEDEMA (BCRL). THIS STUDY ATTEMPTED TO SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEW THE EFFECT OF YOGA THERAPY ON MANAGING LYMPHEDEMA, INCREASING THE RANGE OF MOTION (ROM), AND QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) AMONG BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS. THE REVIEW SEARCH INCLUDED STUDIES FROM ELECTRONIC BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATABASES, NAMELY MEDLINE (PUBMED), EMBASE, AND GOOGLE SCHOLAR TILL JUNE 2019. STUDIES WHICH ASSESSED THE OUTCOME VARIABLES SUCH AS QOL AND MANAGEMENT OF LYMPHEDEMA OR RELATED PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS AS EFFECT OF YOGA INTERVENTION WERE CONSIDERED FOR REVIEW. TWO AUTHORS INDIVIDUALLY REVIEWED, SELECTED ACCORDING TO COCHRANE GUIDELINES, AND EXTRACTED THE ARTICLES USING COVIDENCE SOFTWARE. SCREENING PROCESS OF THIS REVIEW RESULTED IN A TOTAL OF SEVEN STUDIES. THE DIFFERENT STYLES OF YOGA EMPLOYED IN THE STUDIES WERE IYENGAR YOGA (N = 2), SATYANANDA YOGA (N = 2), HATHA YOGA (N = 2), AND ASHTANGA YOGA (N = 1). THE LENGTH OF INTERVENTION AND POST INTERVENTION ANALYSIS RANGED FROM 8 WEEKS TO 12 MONTHS. FOUR STUDIES INCLUDED HOME PRACTICE SESSIONS. QOL, ROM, AND MUSCULOSKELETAL SYMPTOMS SHOWED IMPROVEMENT IN ALL THE STUDIES. YOGA COULD BE A SAFE AND FEASIBLE EXERCISE INTERVENTION FOR BCRL PATIENTS. EVIDENCE GENERATED FROM THESE STUDIES WAS OF MODERATE STRENGTH. FURTHER LONG-TERM CLINICAL TRIALS WITH LARGE SAMPLE SIZE ARE ESSENTIAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND STANDARDIZATION OF YOGA INTERVENTION GUIDELINES FOR BCRL PATIENTS. 2021 17 2621 40 YOGA FOR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER IN WOMEN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED THAT YOGA MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE ADJUNCT INTERVENTION IN THE MANAGEMENT OF SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS (SUD). ADDITIONALLY, WOMEN WITH SUD REQUIRE DIFFERENT TREATMENT APPROACHES THAN MEN. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO CRITICALLY EVALUATE THE EVIDENCE FOR THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA, SPECIFICALLY FOR WOMEN, AS PART OF TREATMENT FOR SUD. NINE ELECTRONIC DATABASES WERE SEARCHED FROM INCEPTION TO JANUARY 2020. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCT) THAT EVALUATED ANY TYPE OF YOGA, INCLUDING YOGA AS A COMPONENT OF MINDFULNESS-BASED TREATMENT, AGAINST ANY TYPE OF CONTROL IN INDIVIDUALS WITH ANY TYPE OF ADDICTION WERE ELIGIBLE. USING THE PREFERRED REPORTING ITEMS FOR SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS AND META-ANALYSES (PRISMA) CHECKLIST AND STATEMENT, METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY WAS APPRAISED USING PHYSIOTHERAPY EVIDENCE DATABASE (PE DRO) CRITERIA. TEN RC TS (EIGHT MIXED-GENDER AND TWO FEMALE-FOCUSED) MET THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA. MOST OF THESE RCTS WERE SMALL TO MEDIUM-SIZED, WITH VARIOUS METHODOLOGICAL AND ANALYTICAL FLAWS AND DEFICITS. THE TYPES OF ADDICTIONS INCLUDED IN THESE STUDIES WERE ALCOHOL, DRUG, AND NICOTINE ADDICTION. MOST RCTS SUGGESTED THAT VARIOUS TYPES OF YOGA, PRIMARILY HATHA YOGA AND ITS COMPONENTS, LED TO FAVORABLE OR EQUIVALENT RESULTS FOR SUD AS AN ADJUNCT TO CONTROL OR TREATMENT-AS-USUAL INTERVENTIONS. THERE ARE LIMITED RESULTS ON THE IMPACT OF YOGA FOR SUD SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED ON WOMEN AND THEIR UNIQUE NEEDS. ALTHOUGH THE RESULTS OF MIXED-GENDER ARTICLES ARE ENCOURAGING, LARGE RCTS WITH GENDER-SPECIFIC SUBANALYSES ARE REQUIRED TO BETTER DETERMINE THE BENEFITS SPECIFIC TO WOMEN INCORPORATING YOGA FOR SUD. 2021 18 1055 30 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 19 2569 42 YOGA FOR DEPRESSION: THE RESEARCH EVIDENCE. BACKGROUND: YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS MAY PROVE TO BE AN ATTRACTIVE OPTION FOR THE TREATMENT OF DEPRESSION. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY IS TO SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEW THE RESEARCH EVIDENCE ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA FOR THIS INDICATION. METHODS: SEARCHES OF THE MAJOR BIOMEDICAL DATABASES INCLUDING MEDLINE, EMBASE, CLNAHL, PSYCINFO AND THE COCHRANE LIBRARY WERE CONDUCTED. SPECIALIST COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE (CAM) AND THE INDMED DATABASES WERE ALSO SEARCHED AND EFFORTS MADE TO IDENTIFY UNPUBLISHED AND ONGOING RESEARCH. SEARCHES WERE CONDUCTED BETWEEN JANUARY AND JUNE 2004. RELEVANT RESEARCH WAS CATEGORISED BY STUDY TYPE AND APPRAISED. CLINICAL COMMENTARIES WERE OBTAINED FOR STUDIES REPORTING CLINICAL OUTCOMES. RESULTS: FIVE RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS WERE LOCATED, EACH OF WHICH UTILISED DIFFERENT FORMS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS AND IN WHICH THE SEVERITY OF THE CONDITION RANGED FROM MILD TO SEVERE. ALL TRIALS REPORTED POSITIVE FINDINGS BUT METHODOLOGICAL DETAILS SUCH AS METHOD OF RANDOMISATION, COMPLIANCE AND ATTRITION RATES WERE MISSING. NO ADVERSE EFFECTS WERE REPORTED WITH THE EXCEPTION OF FATIGUE AND BREATHLESSNESS IN PARTICIPANTS IN ONE STUDY. LIMITATIONS: NO LANGUAGE RESTRICTIONS WERE IMPOSED ON THE SEARCHES CONDUCTED BUT NO SEARCHES OF DATABASES IN LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH WERE INCLUDED. CONCLUSIONS: OVERALL, THE INITIAL INDICATIONS ARE OF POTENTIALLY BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS ON DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS. VARIATION IN INTERVENTIONS, SEVERITY AND REPORTING OF TRIAL METHODOLOGY SUGGESTS THAT THE FINDINGS MUST BE INTERPRETED WITH CAUTION. SEVERAL OF THE INTERVENTIONS MAY NOT BE FEASIBLE IN THOSE WITH REDUCED OR IMPAIRED MOBILITY. NEVERTHELESS, FURTHER INVESTIGATION OF YOGA AS A THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION IS WARRANTED. 2005 20 1856 34 RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW. PURPOSE: YOGA IS INCREASINGLY USED AS A COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY TO MANAGE DISEASE AND TREATMENT-RELATED SIDE EFFECTS IN PATIENTS WITH CANCER AND HAS RESULTED IN AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF STUDIES EXPLORING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS. THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW EXAMINES WHETHER YOGA INTERVENTIONS PROVIDE ANY MEASURABLE BENEFIT, BOTH PHYSICALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY, FOR WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER. THE RESULTS WILL INFORM FUTURE RESEARCH IN THIS FIELD AND ADVANCE THE DEVELOPMENT OF YOGA PROGRAMMES. METHODS: WE PERFORMED ELECTRONIC SEARCHES OF MEDLINE, PSYCHINFO, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, WEB OF SCIENCE AND SCOPUS FOR ARTICLES PUBLISHED UP TO JUNE 2012. ONLY RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) WERE INCLUDED AND METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY RATING SCORES WERE DETERMINED USING THE PEDRO (PHYSIOTHERAPY EVIDENCE DATABASE) SCALE. RESULTS: ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-TWO STUDIES WERE IDENTIFIED THROUGH A SYSTEMATIC SEARCH OF EIGHT ELECTRONIC DATABASES. ONLY PUBLISHED MANUSCRIPTS THAT EMPLOYED A RCT DESIGN WERE INCLUDED (N = 18). THE SAMPLE SIZES FOR THESE STUDIES VARIED WIDELY FROM 18 TO 164 PARTICIPANTS AND THE ASSOCIATED PEDRO SCORES RANGED FROM 1 (POOR) TO 8 (GOOD). ALL 18 STUDIES REPORTED POSITIVE EFFECTS FOR TREATMENT-RELATED SIDE EFFECTS IN FAVOUR OF THE YOGA INTERVENTIONS, WITH THE GREATEST IMPACT ON GLOBAL QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) SCORES AND EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING. CONCLUSION: RESULTS FROM THE FEW RCTS SUGGEST THERE IS MODERATE TO GOOD EVIDENCE THAT YOGA MAY BE A USEFUL PRACTICE FOR WOMEN RECOVERING FROM BREAST CANCER TREATMENTS. LARGE-SCALE RCTS USING OBJECTIVE MEASURES AND PATIENT-REPORTED OUTCOMES WITH LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP ARE NEEDED TO SUBSTANTIATE WHETHER THE BENEFITS ARE TRUE AND SUSTAINABLE. 2012