1 2591 108 YOGA FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS-A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. OBJECTIVES: TO SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEW AND META-ANALYZE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS. METHODS: MEDLINE (VIA PUBMED), THE COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS, AND SCOPUS WERE SCREENED THROUGH TO FEBRUARY 21, 2017 FOR RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) COMPARING THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS TO THOSE OF NO TREATMENT OR ACTIVE COMPARATORS. STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCES (SMD) AND 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CI) WERE CALCULATED. TWO AUTHORS INDEPENDENTLY ASSESSED RISK OF BIAS USING THE COCHRANE RISK OF BIAS TOOL. RESULTS: THIRTEEN RCTS WITH 1306 PARTICIPANTS WERE INCLUDED. COMPARED WITH NO TREATMENT, YOGA REDUCED TOTAL MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS (SMD=-1.05; 95% CI -1.57 TO -0.53), PSYCHOLOGICAL (SMD=-0.75; 95% CI -1.17 TO -0.34), SOMATIC (SMD=-0.65; 95% CI -1.05 TO -0.25), VASOMOTOR (SMD=-0.76; 95% CI -1.27 TO -0.25), AND UROGENITAL SYMPTOMS (SMD=-0.53; 95% CI -0.81 TO -0.25). COMPARED WITH EXERCISE CONTROLS, ONLY AN EFFECT ON VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS WAS FOUND (SMD=-0.45; 95% CI -0.87 TO -0.04). EFFECTS WERE ROBUST AGAINST SELECTION BIAS, BUT NOT AGAINST DETECTION AND ATTRITION BIAS. NO SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS WERE REPORTED. CONCLUSION: YOGA SEEMS TO BE EFFECTIVE AND SAFE FOR REDUCING MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS. EFFECTS ARE COMPARABLE TO THOSE OF OTHER EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS. 2018 2 2614 56 YOGA FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND: THE AIM OF THIS REVIEW WAS TO SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEW AND META-ANALYZE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON SYMPTOMS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA, QUALITY OF LIFE, FUNCTION, AND HOSPITALIZATION IN PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA. METHODS: MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, PSYCINFO, AND INDMED WERE SCREENED THROUGH AUGUST 2012. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) COMPARING YOGA TO USUAL CARE OR NON-PHARMACOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS WERE ANALYZED WHEN THEY ASSESSED SYMPTOMS OR QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA. COGNITIVE FUNCTION, SOCIAL FUNCTION, HOSPITALIZATION, AND SAFETY WERE DEFINED AS SECONDARY OUTCOMES. RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE RISK OF BIAS TOOL RECOMMENDED BY THE COCHRANE BACK REVIEW GROUP. STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCES (SMD) AND 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CI) WERE CALCULATED. RESULTS: FIVE RCTS WITH A TOTAL OF 337 PATIENTS WERE INCLUDED; 2 RCTS HAD LOW RISK OF BIAS. TWO RCTS COMPARED YOGA TO USUAL CARE; 1 RCT COMPARED YOGA TO EXERCISE; AND 2 3-ARM RCTS COMPARED YOGA TO USUAL CARE AND EXERCISE. NO EVIDENCE WAS FOUND FOR SHORT-TERM EFFECTS OF YOGA COMPARED TO USUAL CARE ON POSITIVE SYMPTOMS (SMD = -0.58; 95% CI -1.52 TO 0.37; P = 0.23), OR NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS (SMD = -0.59; 95% CI -1.87 TO 0.69; P = 0.36). MODERATE EVIDENCE WAS FOUND FOR SHORT-TERM EFFECTS ON QUALITY OF LIFE COMPARED TO USUAL CARE (SMD = 2.28; 95% CI 0.42 TO 4.14; P = 0.02). THESE EFFECTS WERE ONLY PRESENT IN STUDIES WITH HIGH RISK OF BIAS. NO EVIDENCE WAS FOUND FOR SHORT-TERM EFFECTS ON SOCIAL FUNCTION (SMD = 1.20; 95% CI -0.78 TO 3.18; P = 0.23). COMPARING YOGA TO EXERCISE, NO EVIDENCE WAS FOUND FOR SHORT-TERM EFFECTS ON POSITIVE SYMPTOMS (SMD = -0.35; 95% CI -0.75 TO 0.05; P = 0.09), NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS (SMD = -0.28; 95% CI -1.42 TO 0.86; P = 0.63), QUALITY OF LIFE (SMD = 0.17; 95% CI -0.27 TO 0.61; P = 0.45), OR SOCIAL FUNCTION (SMD = 0.20; 95% CI -0.27 TO 0.67; P = 0.41). ONLY 1 RCT REPORTED ADVERSE EVENTS. CONCLUSIONS: THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW FOUND ONLY MODERATE EVIDENCE FOR SHORT-TERM EFFECTS OF YOGA ON QUALITY OF LIFE. AS THESE EFFECTS WERE NOT CLEARLY DISTINGUISHABLE FROM BIAS AND SAFETY OF THE INTERVENTION WAS UNCLEAR, NO RECOMMENDATION CAN BE MADE REGARDING YOGA AS A ROUTINE INTERVENTION FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA PATIENTS. 2013 3 1061 42 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY, PHYSICAL HEALTH AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH IN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER RECEIVING CHEMOTHERAPY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND: YOGA RECEIVE MORE ATTENTION FROM BREAST CANCER PATIENTS, HOWEVER ITS FEASIBILITY AND EFFICACY DURING CHEMOTHERAPY REMAINS CONFLICTING. WE PERFORMED THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY, PHYSICAL HEALTH AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING CHEMOTHERAPY. METHODS: A SYSTEMATIC SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED TO RETRIEVE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) WHICH INVESTIGATED THE COMPARATIVE EFFICACY OF YOGA VERSUS COMPARATORS SUCH AS USUAL CARE AMONG BREAST CANCER PATIENTS FOR HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY, PHYSICAL HEALTH AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH IN PUBMED, EMBASE, COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS (CNETRAL), NURSING AND ALLIED HEALTH LITERATURE (CINAHL), CHINESE BIOMEDICAL LITERATURE (CBM) DATABASE, CHINA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL (CSTJ) DATABASE, CHINA NATIONAL KNOWLEDGE INFRASTRUCTURE (CNKI), AND WANGFANG DATABASE FROM INCEPTION TO DECEMBER 2018. THE LATEST SEARCH WAS UPDATED ON SEPTEMBER 2020. ALL ANALYSES WERE COMPLETED USING REVMAN VERSION 5.3. RESULTS: SEVEN TRIALS INVOLVING 693 BREAST CANCER PATIENTS MET INCLUSION CRITERIA. META-ANALYSIS INDICATED A SHORT-TERM IMPROVEMENT IN FATIGUE [STANDARD MEAN DIFFERENCE (SMD), -0.62; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI), -1.17 TO -0.07], SLEEP DISTURBANCE (SMD, -0.34; 95% CI, -0.55 TO -0.12), DEPRESSION (SMD, -0.50; 95% CI, -0.70 TO -0.31) ANXIETY (SMD, -0.50; 95% CI, -0.70 TO -0.31), AND HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) (SMD, 0.72; 95% CI, -0.12 TO 1.56) IN THE YOGA GROUP; HOWEVER BENEFICIAL MEDIUM- AND LONG-TERM EFFECTS IN FATIGUE, SLEEP DISTURBANCE WERE NOT IDENTIFIED. MOREOVER, QUALITATIVE ANALYSES SUGGESTED THAT YOGA WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASED ADVERSE EVENTS (AES) COMPARED WITH CONTROL GROUPS. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA MAY BENEFIT TO REDUCE FATIGUE, DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, IMPROVE SLEEP DISTURBANCE, AND IMPROVE QOL IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS RECEIVING CHEMOTHERAPY IN THE SHORT-TERM; HOWEVER, MEDIUM- AND LONG-TERM EFFECTS SHOULD BE FURTHER ESTABLISHED OWING TO LIMITATIONS. 2021 4 546 23 CONTENT, STRUCTURE AND DELIVERY CHARACTERISTICS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF OSTEOARTHRITIS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW PROTOCOL. THE GLOBAL BURDEN OF OSTEOARTHRITIS AMONG ADULTS IS RISING. YOGA MIGHT BE A POTENTIAL SOLUTION FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF OSTEOARTHRITIS. THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AIMS TO SYNTHESISE THE CONTENT, STRUCTURE AND DELIVERY CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF OSTEOARTHRITIS. THE JBI METHODOLOGY FOR SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS OF EFFECTIVENESS AND THE PREFERRED REPORTING ITEMS FOR SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS AND META-ANALYSES (PRISMA) GUIDELINES WILL BE FOLLOWED. RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF OSTEOARTHRITIS IN ADULTS WILL BE INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW. WE AIM TO SEARCH THE FOLLOWING DATABASES TO FIND PUBLISHED AND UNPUBLISHED STUDIES: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PSYCINFO, SPORTDISCUS, AMED, WEB OF SCIENCE, CENTRAL, TRIP, AYUSH RESEARCH PORTAL, ABIM, CAM-QUEST, PEDRO, OPENGREY, ETHOS, PROQUEST DISSERTATIONS AND THESES AND DART-EUROPE-E-THESES PORTAL. NO DATE OR LANGUAGE RESTRICTIONS WILL BE APPLIED. A NARRATIVE SYNTHESIS WILL BE CONDUCTED WITH THE HELP OF TABLES. A META-REGRESSION WILL BE CONDUCTED TO EXPLORE THE STATISTICAL EVIDENCE FOR WHICH THE COMPONENTS (CONTENT, STRUCTURE AND DELIVERY CHARACTERISTICS) OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS ARE EFFECTIVE. 2022 5 2587 73 YOGA FOR IMPROVING HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE, MENTAL HEALTH AND CANCER-RELATED SYMPTOMS IN WOMEN DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER. BACKGROUND: BREAST CANCER IS THE CANCER MOST FREQUENTLY DIAGNOSED IN WOMEN WORLDWIDE. EVEN THOUGH SURVIVAL RATES ARE CONTINUALLY INCREASING, BREAST CANCER IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH LONG-TERM PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS, CHRONIC PAIN, FATIGUE AND IMPAIRED QUALITY OF LIFE. YOGA COMPRISES ADVICE FOR AN ETHICAL LIFESTYLE, SPIRITUAL PRACTICE, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, BREATHING EXERCISES AND MEDITATION. IT IS A COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY THAT IS COMMONLY RECOMMENDED FOR BREAST CANCER-RELATED IMPAIRMENTS AND HAS BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH IN PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT CANCER TYPES. OBJECTIVES: TO ASSESS EFFECTS OF YOGA ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE, MENTAL HEALTH AND CANCER-RELATED SYMPTOMS AMONG WOMEN WITH A DIAGNOSIS OF BREAST CANCER WHO ARE RECEIVING ACTIVE TREATMENT OR HAVE COMPLETED TREATMENT. SEARCH METHODS: WE SEARCHED THE COCHRANE BREAST CANCER SPECIALISED REGISTER, MEDLINE (VIA PUBMED), EMBASE, THE COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS (CENTRAL; 2016, ISSUE 1), INDEXING OF INDIAN MEDICAL JOURNALS (INDMED), THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) INTERNATIONAL CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY PLATFORM (ICTRP) SEARCH PORTAL AND CLINICALTRIALS.GOV ON 29 JANUARY 2016. WE ALSO SEARCHED REFERENCE LISTS OF IDENTIFIED RELEVANT TRIALS OR REVIEWS, AS WELL AS CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE RESEARCH (ICCMR), THE EUROPEAN CONGRESS FOR INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE (ECIM) AND THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY (ASCO). WE APPLIED NO LANGUAGE RESTRICTIONS. SELECTION CRITERIA: RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS WERE ELIGIBLE WHEN THEY (1) COMPARED YOGA INTERVENTIONS VERSUS NO THERAPY OR VERSUS ANY OTHER ACTIVE THERAPY IN WOMEN WITH A DIAGNOSIS OF NON-METASTATIC OR METASTATIC BREAST CANCER, AND (2) ASSESSED AT LEAST ONE OF THE PRIMARY OUTCOMES ON PATIENT-REPORTED INSTRUMENTS, INCLUDING HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE, DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, FATIGUE OR SLEEP DISTURBANCES. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: TWO REVIEW AUTHORS INDEPENDENTLY COLLECTED DATA ON METHODS AND RESULTS. WE EXPRESSED OUTCOMES AS STANDARDISED MEAN DIFFERENCES (SMDS) WITH 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CIS) AND CONDUCTED RANDOM-EFFECTS MODEL META-ANALYSES. WE ASSESSED POTENTIAL RISK OF PUBLICATION BIAS THROUGH VISUAL ANALYSIS OF FUNNEL PLOT SYMMETRY AND HETEROGENEITY BETWEEN STUDIES BY USING THE CHI(2) TEST AND THE I(2) STATISTIC. WE CONDUCTED SUBGROUP ANALYSES FOR CURRENT TREATMENT STATUS, TIME SINCE DIAGNOSIS, STAGE OF CANCER AND TYPE OF YOGA INTERVENTION. MAIN RESULTS: WE INCLUDED 24 STUDIES WITH A TOTAL OF 2166 PARTICIPANTS, 23 OF WHICH PROVIDED DATA FOR META-ANALYSIS. THIRTEEN STUDIES HAD LOW RISK OF SELECTION BIAS, FIVE STUDIES REPORTED ADEQUATE BLINDING OF OUTCOME ASSESSMENT AND 15 STUDIES HAD LOW RISK OF ATTRITION BIAS.SEVENTEEN STUDIES THAT COMPARED YOGA VERSUS NO THERAPY PROVIDED MODERATE-QUALITY EVIDENCE SHOWING THAT YOGA IMPROVED HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (POOLED SMD 0.22, 95% CI 0.04 TO 0.40; 10 STUDIES, 675 PARTICIPANTS), REDUCED FATIGUE (POOLED SMD -0.48, 95% CI -0.75 TO -0.20; 11 STUDIES, 883 PARTICIPANTS) AND REDUCED SLEEP DISTURBANCES IN THE SHORT TERM (POOLED SMD -0.25, 95% CI -0.40 TO -0.09; SIX STUDIES, 657 PARTICIPANTS). THE FUNNEL PLOT FOR HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE WAS ASYMMETRICAL, FAVOURING NO THERAPY, AND THE FUNNEL PLOT FOR FATIGUE WAS ROUGHLY SYMMETRICAL. THIS HINTS AT OVERALL LOW RISK OF PUBLICATION BIAS. YOGA DID NOT APPEAR TO REDUCE DEPRESSION (POOLED SMD -0.13, 95% CI -0.31 TO 0.05; SEVEN STUDIES, 496 PARTICIPANTS; LOW-QUALITY EVIDENCE) OR ANXIETY (POOLED SMD -0.53, 95% CI -1.10 TO 0.04; SIX STUDIES, 346 PARTICIPANTS; VERY LOW-QUALITY EVIDENCE) IN THE SHORT TERM AND HAD NO MEDIUM-TERM EFFECTS ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (POOLED SMD 0.10, 95% CI -0.23 TO 0.42; TWO STUDIES, 146 PARTICIPANTS; LOW-QUALITY EVIDENCE) OR FATIGUE (POOLED SMD -0.04, 95% CI -0.36 TO 0.29; TWO STUDIES, 146 PARTICIPANTS; LOW-QUALITY EVIDENCE). INVESTIGATORS REPORTED NO SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS.FOUR STUDIES THAT COMPARED YOGA VERSUS PSYCHOSOCIAL/EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTIONS PROVIDED MODERATE-QUALITY EVIDENCE INDICATING THAT YOGA CAN REDUCE DEPRESSION (POOLED SMD -2.29, 95% CI -3.97 TO -0.61; FOUR STUDIES, 226 PARTICIPANTS), ANXIETY (POOLED SMD -2.21, 95% CI -3.90 TO -0.52; THREE STUDIES, 195 PARTICIPANTS) AND FATIGUE (POOLED SMD -0.90, 95% CI -1.31 TO -0.50; TWO STUDIES, 106 PARTICIPANTS) IN THE SHORT TERM. VERY LOW-QUALITY EVIDENCE SHOWED NO SHORT-TERM EFFECTS ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (POOLED SMD 0.81, 95% CI -0.50 TO 2.12; TWO STUDIES, 153 PARTICIPANTS) OR SLEEP DISTURBANCES (POOLED SMD -0.21, 95% CI -0.76 TO 0.34; TWO STUDIES, 119 PARTICIPANTS). NO TRIAL ADEQUATELY REPORTED SAFETY-RELATED DATA.THREE STUDIES THAT COMPARED YOGA VERSUS EXERCISE PRESENTED VERY LOW-QUALITY EVIDENCE SHOWING NO SHORT-TERM EFFECTS ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (POOLED SMD -0.04, 95% CI -0.30 TO 0.23; THREE STUDIES, 233 PARTICIPANTS) OR FATIGUE (POOLED SMD -0.21, 95% CI -0.66 TO 0.25; THREE STUDIES, 233 PARTICIPANTS); NO TRIAL PROVIDED SAFETY-RELATED DATA. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: MODERATE-QUALITY EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THE RECOMMENDATION OF YOGA AS A SUPPORTIVE INTERVENTION FOR IMPROVING HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE AND REDUCING FATIGUE AND SLEEP DISTURBANCES WHEN COMPARED WITH NO THERAPY, AS WELL AS FOR REDUCING DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND FATIGUE, WHEN COMPARED WITH PSYCHOSOCIAL/EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTIONS. VERY LOW-QUALITY EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT YOGA MIGHT BE AS EFFECTIVE AS OTHER EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS AND MIGHT BE USED AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO OTHER EXERCISE PROGRAMMES. 2017 6 545 22 CONTENT, STRUCTURE AND DELIVERY CHARACTERISTICS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR MANAGING RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW PROTOCOL. THE GLOBAL BURDEN OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS AMONG ADULTS IS RISING. YOGA MIGHT BE A POTENTIAL SOLUTION FOR MANAGING RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AIMS TO SYNTHESISE THE CONTENT, STRUCTURE AND DELIVERY CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR MANAGING RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. THE JBI METHODOLOGY FOR SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS OF EFFECTIVENESS AND THE PREFERRED REPORTING ITEMS FOR SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS AND META-ANALYSES (PRISMA) GUIDELINES WILL BE FOLLOWED. PRISMA FOR SYSTEMATIC REVIEW PROTOCOLS (PRISMA-P) WAS USED TO WRITE THE PROTOCOL. RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR MANAGING RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS IN ADULTS WILL BE INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW. WE AIM TO SEARCH THE FOLLOWING DATABASES TO FIND PUBLISHED AND UNPUBLISHED STUDIES: ABIM, AMED, AYUSH RESEARCH PORTAL, CAM-QUEST, CINAHL, CENTRAL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PEDRO, PSYCINFO, SPORTDISCUS, TRIP, WEB OF SCIENCE, DART-EUROPE-E-THESES PORTAL, ETHOS, OPENGREY AND PROQUEST DISSERTATIONS AND THESES. NO DATE OR LANGUAGE RESTRICTIONS WILL BE APPLIED. A NARRATIVE SYNTHESIS WILL BE CONDUCTED. META-REGRESSION WILL BE CONDUCTED TO EXPLORE THE STATISTICAL EVIDENCE FOR WHICH COMPONENTS (CONTENT, STRUCTURE AND DELIVERY CHARACTERISTICS) OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS ARE EFFECTIVE. 2022 7 222 57 A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF YOGA FOR LOW BACK PAIN. OBJECTIVES: TO SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEW AND META-ANALYZE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA FOR LOW BACK PAIN. METHODS: MEDLINE, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, EMBASE, CAMBASE, AND PSYCINFO, WERE SCREENED THROUGH JANUARY 2012. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS COMPARING YOGA TO CONTROL CONDITIONS IN PATIENTS WITH LOW BACK PAIN WERE INCLUDED. TWO AUTHORS INDEPENDENTLY ASSESSED RISK OF BIAS USING THE RISK OF BIAS TOOL RECOMMENDED BY THE COCHRANE BACK REVIEW GROUP. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES WERE PAIN, BACK-SPECIFIC DISABILITY, GENERIC DISABILITY, HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE, AND GLOBAL IMPROVEMENT. FOR EACH OUTCOME, STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCES (SMD) AND 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CI) WERE CALCULATED. RESULTS: TEN RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS WITH A TOTAL OF 967 CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN PATIENTS WERE INCLUDED. EIGHT STUDIES HAD LOW RISK OF BIAS. THERE WAS STRONG EVIDENCE FOR SHORT-TERM EFFECTS ON PAIN (SMD=-0.48; 95% CI, -0.65 TO -0.31; P<0.01), BACK-SPECIFIC DISABILITY (SMD=-0.59; 95% CI, -0.87 TO -0.30; P<0.01), AND GLOBAL IMPROVEMENT (RISK RATIO=3.27; 95% CI, 1.89-5.66; P<0.01). THERE WAS STRONG EVIDENCE FOR A LONG-TERM EFFECT ON PAIN (SMD=-0.33; 95% CI, -0.59 TO -0.07; P=0.01) AND MODERATE EVIDENCE FOR A LONG-TERM EFFECT ON BACK-SPECIFIC DISABILITY (SMD=-0.35; 95% CI, -0.55 TO -0.15; P<0.01). THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE FOR EITHER SHORT-TERM OR LONG-TERM EFFECTS ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE. YOGA WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS. DISCUSSION: THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW FOUND STRONG EVIDENCE FOR SHORT-TERM EFFECTIVENESS AND MODERATE EVIDENCE FOR LONG-TERM EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN IN THE MOST IMPORTANT PATIENT-CENTERED OUTCOMES. YOGA CAN BE RECOMMENDED AS AN ADDITIONAL THERAPY TO CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN PATIENTS. 2013 8 2634 46 YOGA FOR TREATING LOW BACK PAIN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. ABSTRACT: YOGA IS FREQUENTLY USED FOR BACK PAIN RELIEF. HOWEVER, THE EVIDENCE WAS JUDGED TO BE OF ONLY LOW TO MODERATE CERTAINTY. TO ASSESS THE EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH LOW BACK PAIN, A META-ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED. THEREFORE, MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, AND THE COCHRANE LIBRARY WERE SEARCHED TO MAY 26, 2020. ONLY RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS COMPARING YOGA WITH PASSIVE CONTROL (USUAL CARE OR WAIT LIST), OR AN ACTIVE COMPARATOR, FOR PATIENTS WITH LOW BACK PAIN AND THAT ASSESSED PAIN INTENSITY OR PAIN-RELATED DISABILITY AS A PRIMARY OUTCOME WERE CONSIDERED TO BE ELIGIBLE. TWO REVIEWERS INDEPENDENTLY EXTRACTED DATA ON STUDY CHARACTERISTICS, OUTCOME MEASURES, AND RESULTS AT SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP. RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE RISK OF BIAS TOOL. THIRTY ARTICLES ON 27 INDIVIDUAL STUDIES (2702 PARTICIPANTS IN TOTAL) PROVED ELIGIBLE FOR REVIEW. COMPARED WITH PASSIVE CONTROL, YOGA WAS ASSOCIATED WITH SHORT-TERM IMPROVEMENTS IN PAIN INTENSITY (15 RCTS; MEAN DIFFERENCE [MD] = -0.74 POINTS ON A NUMERIC RATING SCALE; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI] = -1.04 TO -0.44; STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE [SMD] = -0.37 95% CI = -0.52 TO -0.22), PAIN-RELATED DISABILITY (15 RCTS; MD = -2.28; 95% CI = -3.30 TO -1.26; SMD = -0.38 95% CI = -0.55 TO -0.21), MENTAL HEALTH (7 RCTS; MD = 1.70; 95% CI = 0.20-3.20; SMD = 0.17 95% CI = 0.02-0.32), AND PHYSICAL FUNCTIONING (9 RCTS; MD = 2.80; 95% CI = 1.00-4.70; SMD = 0.28 95% CI = 0.10-0.47). EXCEPT FOR MENTAL HEALTH, ALL EFFECTS WERE SUSTAINED LONG-TERM. COMPARED WITH AN ACTIVE COMPARATOR, YOGA WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH ANY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN SHORT-TERM OR LONG-TERM OUTCOMES. 2022 9 2820 57 YOGA TREATMENT FOR CHRONIC NON-SPECIFIC LOW BACK PAIN (2017). WIELAND LS, SKOETZ N, PILKINGTON K, VEMPATI R, DADAMO CR, BERMAN BM. YOGA TREATMENT FOR CHRONIC NON-SPECIFIC LOW BACK PAIN.COCHRANE DATABASE SYST REV2017, ISSUE 1. ART. NO.: CD010671. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD010671.PUB2. BACKGROUND: NON-SPECIFIC LOW BACK PAIN IS A COMMON, POTENTIALLY DISABLING CONDITION USUALLY TREATED WITH SELF-CARE AND NON-PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION. FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN, CURRENT GUIDELINES STATE THAT EXERCISE THERAPY MAY BE BENEFICIAL. YOGA IS A MIND-BODY EXERCISE SOMETIMES USED FOR NON-SPECIFIC LOW BACK PAIN. OBJECTIVES: TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF YOGA FOR TREATING CHRONIC NON-SPECIFIC LOW BACK PAIN, COMPARED TO NO SPECIFIC TREATMENT, A MINIMAL INTERVENTION (E.G., EDUCATION), OR ANOTHER ACTIVE TREATMENT, WITH A FOCUS ON PAIN, FUNCTION, AND ADVERSE EVENTS. SEARCH METHODS: WE SEARCHED CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, FIVE OTHER DATABASES, AND FOUR TRIALS REGISTERS TO 11 MARCH 2016 WITHOUT RESTRICTION OF LANGUAGE OR PUBLICATION STATUS. WE SCREENED REFERENCE LISTS AND CONTACTED EXPERTS IN THE FIELD TO IDENTIFY ADDITIONAL STUDIES. SELECTION CRITERIA: WE INCLUDED RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS OF YOGA TREATMENT IN PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC NON-SPECIFIC LOW BACK PAIN. WE INCLUDED STUDIES COMPARING YOGA TO ANY OTHER INTERVENTION OR TO NO INTERVENTION. WE ALSO INCLUDED STUDIES COMPARING YOGA AS AN ADJUNCT TO OTHER THERAPIES, VERSUS THOSE OTHER THERAPIES ALONE. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: TWO AUTHORS INDEPENDENTLY SCREENED AND SELECTED STUDIES, EXTRACTED OUTCOME DATA, AND ASSESSED RISK OF BIAS. WE CONTACTED STUDY AUTHORS TO OBTAIN MISSING OR UNCLEAR INFORMATION. WE EVALUATED THE OVERALL CERTAINTY OF EVIDENCE USING THE GRADE APPROACH. MAIN RESULTS: WE INCLUDED 12 TRIALS (1080 PARTICIPANTS) CARRIED OUT IN THE USA (SEVEN TRIALS), INDIA (THREE TRIALS), AND THE UK (TWO TRIALS). STUDIES WERE UNFUNDED (ONE TRIAL), FUNDED BY A YOGA INSTITUTION (ONE TRIAL), FUNDED BY NON-PROFIT OR GOVERNMENT SOURCES (SEVEN TRIALS), OR DID NOT REPORT ON FUNDING (THREE TRIALS). MOST TRIALS USED IYENGAR, HATHA, OR VINIYOGA FORMS OF YOGA. THE TRIALS COMPARED YOGA TO NO INTERVENTION OR A NON-EXERCISE INTERVENTION SUCH AS EDUCATION (SEVEN TRIALS), AN EXERCISE INTERVENTION (THREE TRIALS), OR BOTH EXERCISE AND NON-EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS (TWO TRIALS). ALL TRIALS WERE AT HIGH RISK OF PERFORMANCE AND DETECTION BIAS BECAUSE PARTICIPANTS AND PROVIDERS WERE NOT BLINDED TO TREATMENT ASSIGNMENT, AND OUTCOMES WERE SELF-ASSESSED. THEREFORE, WE DOWNGRADED ALL OUTCOMES TO "MODERATE" CERTAINTY EVIDENCE BECAUSE OF RISK OF BIAS, AND WHEN THERE WAS ADDITIONAL SERIOUS RISK OF BIAS, UNEXPLAINED HETEROGENEITY BETWEEN STUDIES, OR THE ANALYSES WERE IMPRECISE, WE DOWNGRADED THE CERTAINTY OF THE EVIDENCE FURTHER. FOR YOGA COMPARED TO NON-EXERCISE CONTROLS (9 TRIALS; 810 PARTICIPANTS), THERE WAS LOW-CERTAINTY EVIDENCE THAT YOGA PRODUCED SMALL TO MODERATE IMPROVEMENTS IN BACK-RELATED FUNCTION AT THREE TO FOUR MONTHS [STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE (SMD) = -0.40, 95% CI: -0.66 TO -0.14; CORRESPONDING TO A CHANGE IN THE ROLAND-MORRIS DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE OF MEAN DIFFERENCE (MD) = -2.18, 95% CI: -3.60 TO -0.76], MODERATE-CERTAINTY EVIDENCE FOR SMALL TO MODERATE IMPROVEMENTS AT SIX MONTHS (SMD = -0.44, 95% CI: -0.66 TO -0.22; CORRESPONDING TO A CHANGE IN THE ROLAND-MORRIS DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE OF MD = -2.15, 95% CI: -3.23 TO -1.08), AND LOW-CERTAINTY EVIDENCE FOR SMALL IMPROVEMENTS AT 12 MONTHS (SMD = -0.26, 95% CI: -0.46 TO -0.05; CORRESPONDING TO A CHANGE IN THE ROLAND-MORRIS DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE OF MD = -1.36, 95% CI: -2.41 TO -0.26). ON A 0-100 SCALE THERE WAS VERY LOW- TO MODERATE-CERTAINTY EVIDENCE THAT YOGA WAS SLIGHTLY BETTER FOR PAIN AT THREE TO FOUR MONTHS (MD = -4.55, 95% CI: -7.04 TO -2.06), SIX MONTHS (MD = -7.81, 95% CI: -13.37 TO -2.25), AND 12 MONTHS (MD = -5.40, 95% CI: -14.50 TO -3.70); HOWEVER, WE PRE-DEFINED CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN PAIN AS 15 POINTS OR GREATER AND THIS THRESHOLD WAS NOT MET. BASED ON INFORMATION FROM SIX TRIALS, THERE WAS MODERATE-CERTAINTY EVIDENCE THAT THE RISK OF ADVERSE EVENTS, PRIMARILY INCREASED BACK PAIN, WAS HIGHER IN YOGA THAN IN NON-EXERCISE CONTROLS [RISK DIFFERENCE (RD) = 5%, 95% CI: 2-8%]. FOR YOGA COMPARED TO NON-YOGA EXERCISE CONTROLS (4 TRIALS; 394 PARTICIPANTS), THERE WAS VERY-LOW-CERTAINTY EVIDENCE FOR LITTLE OR NO DIFFERENCE IN BACK-RELATED FUNCTION AT THREE MONTHS (SMD = -0.22, 95% CI: -0.65 TO 0.20; CORRESPONDING TO A CHANGE IN THE ROLAND-MORRIS DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE OF MD = -0.99, 95% CI: -2.87 TO 0.90) AND SIX MONTHS (SMD = -0.20, 95% CI: -0.59 TO 0.19; CORRESPONDING TO A CHANGE IN THE ROLAND-MORRIS DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE OF MD = -0.90, 95% CI: -2.61 TO 0.81), AND NO INFORMATION ON BACK-RELATED FUNCTION AFTER SIX MONTHS. THERE WAS VERY LOW-CERTAINTY EVIDENCE FOR LOWER PAIN ON A 0-100 SCALE AT SEVEN MONTHS (MD = -20.40, 95% CI: -25.48 TO -15.32), AND NO INFORMATION ON PAIN AT THREE MONTHS OR AFTER SEVEN MONTHS. BASED ON INFORMATION FROM THREE TRIALS, THERE WAS LOW-CERTAINTY EVIDENCE FOR NO DIFFERENCE IN THE RISK OF ADVERSE EVENTS BETWEEN YOGA AND NON-YOGA EXERCISE CONTROLS (RD = 1%, 95% CI: -4% TO 6%). FOR YOGA ADDED TO EXERCISE COMPARED TO EXERCISE ALONE (1 TRIAL; 24 PARTICIPANTS), THERE WAS VERY-LOW-CERTAINTY EVIDENCE FOR LITTLE OR NO DIFFERENCE AT 10 WEEKS IN BACK-RELATED FUNCTION (SMD = -0.60, 95% CI: -1.42 TO 0.22; CORRESPONDING TO A CHANGE IN THE OSWESTRY DISABILITY INDEX OF MD = -17.05, 95% CI: -22.96 TO 11.14) OR PAIN ON A 0-100 SCALE (MD = -3.20, 95% CI: -13.76 TO 7.36). THERE WAS NO INFORMATION ON OUTCOMES AT OTHER TIME POINTS. THERE WAS NO INFORMATION ON ADVERSE EVENTS. STUDIES PROVIDED LIMITED EVIDENCE ON RISK OF CLINICAL IMPROVEMENT, MEASURES OF QUALITY OF LIFE, AND DEPRESSION. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE ON WORK-RELATED DISABILITY. 2017 10 1054 55 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON CHRONIC NECK PAIN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. OBJECTIVE: THE AIM OF THIS REVIEW WAS TO SYSTEMATICALLY ASSESS AND META-ANALYZE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA IN RELIEVING CHRONIC NECK PAIN. METHODS: PUBMED/MEDLINE, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, SCOPUS, AND INDMED WERE SCREENED THROUGH JANUARY 2017 FOR RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS ASSESSING NECK PAIN INTENSITY AND/OR NECK PAIN-RELATED DISABILITY IN CHRONIC NECK PAIN PATIENTS. SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES INCLUDED QUALITY OF LIFE, MOOD, AND SAFETY. RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE TOOL. RESULTS: THREE STUDIES ON 188 PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC NON-SPECIFIC NECK PAIN COMPARING YOGA TO USUAL CARE WERE INCLUDED. TWO STUDIES HAD OVERALL LOW RISK OF BIAS; AND ONE HAD HIGH OR UNCLEAR RISK OF BIAS FOR SEVERAL DOMAINS. EVIDENCE FOR SHORT-TERM EFFECTS WAS FOUND FOR NECK PAIN INTENSITY (STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE (SMD) = -1.28; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI) = -1.18, -0.75; P < 0.001), NECK PAIN-RELATED DISABILITY (SMD = -0.97; 95% CI = -1.44, -0.50; P < 0.001), QUALITY OF LIFE (SMD = 0.57; 95% CI = 0.17, 0.197; P = 0.005), AND MOOD (SMD = -1.02; 95% CI = -1.38, -0.65; P < 0.001). EFFECTS WERE ROBUST AGAINST POTENTIAL METHODOLOGICAL BIAS AND DID NOT DIFFER BETWEEN DIFFERENT INTERVENTION SUBGROUPS. IN THE TWO STUDIES THAT INCLUDED SAFETY DATA, NO SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS OCCURRED. CONCLUSION: YOGA HAS SHORT-TERM EFFECTS ON CHRONIC NECK PAIN, ITS RELATED DISABILITY, QUALITY OF LIFE, AND MOOD SUGGESTING THAT YOGA MIGHT BE A GOOD TREATMENT OPTION. 2017 11 1074 50 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC NONSPECIFIC NECK PAIN: A PRISMA SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC NONSPECIFIC NECK PAIN (CNNP) HAS A HIGH PREVALENCE AND IS MORE COMMON AMONG YOUNGER PEOPLE. CLINICAL PRACTICE SUGGESTS THAT YOGA IS EFFECTIVE IN RELIEVING CHRONIC PAIN. OBJECTIVES: THIS META-ANALYSIS AIMED TO QUANTITATIVELY SUMMARIZE THE EFFICACY OF YOGA FOR TREATING CNNP. DATA SOURCES: WE SEARCHED FOR TRIALS IN THE ELECTRONIC DATABASES FROM THEIR INCEPTION TO JANUARY 2019. ENGLISH DATABASES INCLUDING PUBMED, MEDLINE, COCHRANE LIBRARY, EMBASE, SCOPUS, THE COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS, AND IND MED; CHINESE DATABASES INCLUDING CHINA NATIONAL KNOWLEDGE INFRASTRUCTURE (CNKI), WANFANG DATABASE, AND VIP INFORMATION. WE ALSO CONDUCTED A MANUAL SEARCH OF KEY JOURNALS AND THE REFERENCE LISTS OF ELIGIBLE PAPERS TO IDENTIFY ANY POTENTIALLY RELEVANT STUDIES WE MAY HAVE MISSED. WE PLACED NO LIMITATIONS ON LANGUAGE OR DATE OF PUBLICATION. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: WE INCLUDED ONLY RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) AND Q-RCTS EVALUATING THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PATIENTS WITH CNNP. THE PRIMARY OUTCOMES FOR THIS REVIEW WERE PAIN AND DISABILITY, AND THE SECONDARY OUTCOMES WERE CERVICAL RANGE OF MOTION (CROM), QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL), AND MOOD. PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS: TRAILS THAT EXAMINED THE CLINICAL OUTCOMES OF YOGA INTERVENTION IN ADULTS WITH CNNP COMPARED WITH THOSE OF OTHER THERAPIES EXCEPT YOGA (E.G., EXERCISE, PILATES, USUAL CARE, ET AL) WERE INCLUDED. STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS METHODS: COCHRANE RISK-OF-BIAS CRITERIA WERE USED TO ASSESS THE METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY, AND REVMAN 5.3 SOFTWARE WAS USED TO CONDUCT THE META-ANALYSIS. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 10 TRIALS (N = 686) COMPARING YOGA AND INTERVENTIONS OTHER THAN YOGA WERE INCLUDED IN THE META-ANALYSIS. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT YOGA HAD A POSITIVE EFFECTS ON NECK PAIN INTENSITY (TOTAL EFFECT: SMD = -1.13, 95% CI [-1.60, -0.66], Z = 4.75, P < .00001), NECK PAIN-RELATED FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY (TOTAL EFFECT: SMD = -0.92, 95% CI [-1.38, -0.47], Z = 3.95, P < .0001), CROM (TOTAL EFFECT: SMD = 1.22, 95% CI [0.87, 1.57], Z = 6.83, P < .00001), QOL (TOTAL EFFECT: MD = 3.46, 95% CI [0.75, 6.16], Z = 2.51, P = .01), AND MOOD (TOTAL EFFECT: SMD = -0.61, 95% CI [-0.95, -0.27], Z = 3.53, P = .0004). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF KEY FINDINGS: IT WAS DIFFICULT TO MAKE A COMPREHENSIVE SUMMARY OF ALL THE EVIDENCE DUE TO THE DIFFERENT SESSION AND DURATION OF THE YOGA INTERVENTIONS, AND THE DIFFERENT OUTCOME MEASUREMENT TOOLS IN THE STUDY, WE DRAW A VERY CAUTIOUS CONCLUSION THAT YOGA CAN RELIEVE NECK PAIN INTENSITY, IMPROVE PAIN-RELATED FUNCTION DISABILITY, INCREASE CROM, IMPROVE QOL, AND BOOST MOOD. THIS SUGGESTS THAT YOGA MIGHT BE AN IMPORTANT ALTERNATIVE IN THE TREATMENT OF CNNP. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER: DETAILS OF THE PROTOCOL FOR THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS WERE REGISTERED ON PROSPERO AND CAN BE ACCESSED AT WWW.CRD.YORK.AC.UK/PROSPERO/DISPLAY_RECORD.ASP?ID=CRD42018108992. 2019 12 2546 60 YOGA FOR BREAST CANCER PATIENTS AND SURVIVORS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND: MANY BREAST CANCER PATIENTS AND SURVIVORS USE YOGA TO COPE WITH THEIR DISEASE. THE AIM OF THIS REVIEW WAS TO SYSTEMATICALLY ASSESS AND META-ANALYZE THE EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS OF YOGA ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS AND SURVIVORS. METHODS: MEDLINE, PSYCINFO, EMBASE, CAMBASE, AND THE COCHRANE LIBRARY WERE SCREENED THROUGH FEBRUARY 2012. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) COMPARING YOGA TO CONTROLS WERE ANALYZED WHEN THEY ASSESSED HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE OR PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS OR SURVIVORS. RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE RISK OF BIAS TOOL. STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCES (SMD) AND 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CI) WERE CALCULATED. RESULTS: TWELVE RCTS WITH A TOTAL OF 742 PARTICIPANTS WERE INCLUDED. SEVEN RCTS COMPARED YOGA TO NO TREATMENT; 3 RCTS COMPARED YOGA TO SUPPORTIVE THERAPY; 1 RCT COMPARED YOGA TO HEALTH EDUCATION; AND 1 RCT COMPARED A COMBINATION OF PHYSIOTHERAPY AND YOGA TO PHYSIOTHERAPY ALONE. EVIDENCE WAS FOUND FOR SHORT-TERM EFFECTS ON GLOBAL HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (SMD = 0.62 [95% CI: 0.04 TO 1.21]; P = 0.04), FUNCTIONAL (SMD = 0.30 [95% CI: 0.03 TO 0.57), SOCIAL (SMD = 0.29 [95% CI: 0.08 TO 0.50]; P < 0.01), AND SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING (SMD = 0.41 [95% CI: 0.08; 0.74]; P = 0.01). THESE EFFECTS WERE, HOWEVER, ONLY PRESENT IN STUDIES WITH UNCLEAR OR HIGH RISK OF SELECTION BIAS. SHORT-TERM EFFECTS ON PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH ALSO WERE FOUND: ANXIETY (SMD = -1.51 [95% CI: -2.47; -0.55]; P < 0.01), DEPRESSION (SMD = -1.59 [95% CI: -2.68 TO -0.51]; P < 0.01), PERCEIVED STRESS (SMD = -1.14 [95% CI:-2.16; -0.12]; P = 0.03), AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS (SMD = -0.86 [95% CI:-1.50; -0.22]; P < 0.01). SUBGROUP ANALYSES REVEALED EVIDENCE OF EFFICACY ONLY FOR YOGA DURING ACTIVE CANCER TREATMENT BUT NOT AFTER COMPLETION OF ACTIVE TREATMENT. CONCLUSIONS: THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW FOUND EVIDENCE FOR SHORT-TERM EFFECTS OF YOGA IN IMPROVING PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS. THE SHORT-TERM EFFECTS ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE COULD NOT BE CLEARLY DISTINGUISHED FROM BIAS. YOGA CAN BE RECOMMENDED AS AN INTERVENTION TO IMPROVE PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH DURING BREAST CANCER TREATMENT. 2012 13 2860 43 YOGA-BASED EXERCISE IMPROVES HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE AND MENTAL WELL-BEING IN OLDER PEOPLE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS. OBJECTIVE: HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQOL) AND MENTAL WELL-BEING ARE ASSOCIATED WITH HEALTHY AGEING. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY POSITIVELY IMPACTS BOTH HRQOL AND MENTAL WELL-BEING. YOGA IS A PHYSICAL ACTIVITY THAT CAN BE MODIFIED TO SUITS THE NEEDS OF OLDER PEOPLE AND IS GROWING IN POPULARITY. WE CONDUCTED A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WITH META-ANALYSIS TO DETERMINE THE IMPACT OF YOGA-BASED EXERCISE ON HRQOL AND MENTAL WELL-BEING IN PEOPLE AGED 60+. METHODS: SEARCHES WERE CONDUCTED FOR RELEVANT TRIALS IN THE FOLLOWING ELECTRONIC DATABASES; MEDLINE, EMBASE, COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS, CINAHL, ALLIED AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE DATABASE, PSYCINFO AND THE PHYSIOTHERAPY EVIDENCE DATABASE (PEDRO) FROM INCEPTION TO JANUARY 2017. TRIALS THAT EVALUATED THE EFFECT OF PHYSICAL YOGA ON HRQOL AND/OR ON MENTAL WELL-BEING IN PEOPLE AGED 60+ YEARS WERE INCLUDED. DATA ON HRQOL AND MENTAL WELL-BEING WERE EXTRACTED. STANDARDISED MEAN DIFFERENCES AND 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CI) WERE CALCULATED USING RANDOM EFFECTS MODELS. METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY OF TRIALS WAS ASSESSED USING THE PEDRO SCALE. RESULTS: TWELVE TRIALS OF HIGH METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY (MEAN PEDRO SCORE 6.1), TOTALLING 752 PARTICIPANTS, WERE IDENTIFIED AND PROVIDED DATA FOR THE META-ANALYSIS. YOGA PRODUCED A MEDIUM EFFECT ON HRQOL (HEDGES' G = 0.51, 95% CI 0.25-0.76, 12 TRIALS) AND A SMALL EFFECT ON MENTAL WELL-BEING (HEDGES' G = 0.38, 95% CI 0.15-0.62, 12 TRIALS). CONCLUSION: YOGA INTERVENTIONS RESULTED IN SMALL TO MODERATE IMPROVEMENTS IN BOTH HRQOL AND MENTAL WELL-BEING IN PEOPLE AGED 60+ YEARS. FURTHER, RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO DETERMINE THE OPTIMAL DOSE OF YOGA TO MAXIMISE HEALTH IMPACT. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: (CRD42016052458). 2018 14 2821 62 YOGA TREATMENT FOR CHRONIC NON-SPECIFIC LOW BACK PAIN. BACKGROUND: NON-SPECIFIC LOW BACK PAIN IS A COMMON, POTENTIALLY DISABLING CONDITION USUALLY TREATED WITH SELF-CARE AND NON-PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION. FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN, CURRENT GUIDELINES STATE THAT EXERCISE THERAPY MAY BE BENEFICIAL. YOGA IS A MIND-BODY EXERCISE SOMETIMES USED FOR NON-SPECIFIC LOW BACK PAIN. OBJECTIVES: TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF YOGA FOR TREATING CHRONIC NON-SPECIFIC LOW BACK PAIN, COMPARED TO NO SPECIFIC TREATMENT, A MINIMAL INTERVENTION (E.G. EDUCATION), OR ANOTHER ACTIVE TREATMENT, WITH A FOCUS ON PAIN, FUNCTION, AND ADVERSE EVENTS. SEARCH METHODS: WE SEARCHED CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, FIVE OTHER DATABASES AND FOUR TRIALS REGISTERS TO 11 MARCH 2016 WITHOUT RESTRICTION OF LANGUAGE OR PUBLICATION STATUS. WE SCREENED REFERENCE LISTS AND CONTACTED EXPERTS IN THE FIELD TO IDENTIFY ADDITIONAL STUDIES. SELECTION CRITERIA: WE INCLUDED RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS OF YOGA TREATMENT IN PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC NON-SPECIFIC LOW BACK PAIN. WE INCLUDED STUDIES COMPARING YOGA TO ANY OTHER INTERVENTION OR TO NO INTERVENTION. WE ALSO INCLUDED STUDIES COMPARING YOGA AS AN ADJUNCT TO OTHER THERAPIES, VERSUS THOSE OTHER THERAPIES ALONE. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: TWO AUTHORS INDEPENDENTLY SCREENED AND SELECTED STUDIES, EXTRACTED OUTCOME DATA, AND ASSESSED RISK OF BIAS. WE CONTACTED STUDY AUTHORS TO OBTAIN MISSING OR UNCLEAR INFORMATION. WE EVALUATED THE OVERALL CERTAINTY OF EVIDENCE USING THE GRADE APPROACH. MAIN RESULTS: WE INCLUDED 12 TRIALS (1080 PARTICIPANTS) CARRIED OUT IN THE USA (SEVEN TRIALS), INDIA (THREE TRIALS), AND THE UK (TWO TRIALS). STUDIES WERE UNFUNDED (ONE TRIAL), FUNDED BY A YOGA INSTITUTION (ONE TRIAL), FUNDED BY NON-PROFIT OR GOVERNMENT SOURCES (SEVEN TRIALS), OR DID NOT REPORT ON FUNDING (THREE TRIALS). MOST TRIALS USED IYENGAR, HATHA, OR VINIYOGA FORMS OF YOGA. THE TRIALS COMPARED YOGA TO NO INTERVENTION OR A NON-EXERCISE INTERVENTION SUCH AS EDUCATION (SEVEN TRIALS), AN EXERCISE INTERVENTION (THREE TRIALS), OR BOTH EXERCISE AND NON-EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS (TWO TRIALS). ALL TRIALS WERE AT HIGH RISK OF PERFORMANCE AND DETECTION BIAS BECAUSE PARTICIPANTS AND PROVIDERS WERE NOT BLINDED TO TREATMENT ASSIGNMENT, AND OUTCOMES WERE SELF-ASSESSED. THEREFORE, WE DOWNGRADED ALL OUTCOMES TO 'MODERATE' CERTAINTY EVIDENCE BECAUSE OF RISK OF BIAS, AND WHEN THERE WAS ADDITIONAL SERIOUS RISK OF BIAS, UNEXPLAINED HETEROGENEITY BETWEEN STUDIES, OR THE ANALYSES WERE IMPRECISE, WE DOWNGRADED THE CERTAINTY OF THE EVIDENCE FURTHER.FOR YOGA COMPARED TO NON-EXERCISE CONTROLS (9 TRIALS; 810 PARTICIPANTS), THERE WAS LOW-CERTAINTY EVIDENCE THAT YOGA PRODUCED SMALL TO MODERATE IMPROVEMENTS IN BACK-RELATED FUNCTION AT THREE TO FOUR MONTHS (STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE (SMD) -0.40, 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI) -0.66 TO -0.14; CORRESPONDING TO A CHANGE IN THE ROLAND-MORRIS DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE OF MEAN DIFFERENCE (MD) -2.18, 95% -3.60 TO -0.76), MODERATE-CERTAINTY EVIDENCE FOR SMALL TO MODERATE IMPROVEMENTS AT SIX MONTHS (SMD -0.44, 95% CI -0.66 TO -0.22; CORRESPONDING TO A CHANGE IN THE ROLAND-MORRIS DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE OF MD -2.15, 95% -3.23 TO -1.08), AND LOW-CERTAINTY EVIDENCE FOR SMALL IMPROVEMENTS AT 12 MONTHS (SMD -0.26, 95% CI -0.46 TO -0.05; CORRESPONDING TO A CHANGE IN THE ROLAND-MORRIS DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE OF MD -1.36, 95% -2.41 TO -0.26). ON A 0-100 SCALE THERE WAS VERY LOW- TO MODERATE-CERTAINTY EVIDENCE THAT YOGA WAS SLIGHTLY BETTER FOR PAIN AT THREE TO FOUR MONTHS (MD -4.55, 95% CI -7.04 TO -2.06), SIX MONTHS (MD -7.81, 95% CI -13.37 TO -2.25), AND 12 MONTHS (MD -5.40, 95% CI -14.50 TO -3.70), HOWEVER WE PRE-DEFINED CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN PAIN AS 15 POINTS OR GREATER AND THIS THRESHOLD WAS NOT MET. BASED ON INFORMATION FROM SIX TRIALS, THERE WAS MODERATE-CERTAINTY EVIDENCE THAT THE RISK OF ADVERSE EVENTS, PRIMARILY INCREASED BACK PAIN, WAS HIGHER IN YOGA THAN IN NON-EXERCISE CONTROLS (RISK DIFFERENCE (RD) 5%, 95% CI 2% TO 8%).FOR YOGA COMPARED TO NON-YOGA EXERCISE CONTROLS (4 TRIALS; 394 PARTICIPANTS), THERE WAS VERY-LOW-CERTAINTY EVIDENCE FOR LITTLE OR NO DIFFERENCE IN BACK-RELATED FUNCTION AT THREE MONTHS (SMD -0.22, 95% CI -0.65 TO 0.20; CORRESPONDING TO A CHANGE IN THE ROLAND-MORRIS DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE OF MD -0.99, 95% -2.87 TO 0.90) AND SIX MONTHS (SMD -0.20, 95% CI -0.59 TO 0.19; CORRESPONDING TO A CHANGE IN THE ROLAND-MORRIS DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE OF MD -0.90, 95% -2.61 TO 0.81), AND NO INFORMATION ON BACK-RELATED FUNCTION AFTER SIX MONTHS. THERE WAS VERY LOW-CERTAINTY EVIDENCE FOR LOWER PAIN ON A 0-100 SCALE AT SEVEN MONTHS (MD -20.40, 95% CI -25.48 TO -15.32), AND NO INFORMATION ON PAIN AT THREE MONTHS OR AFTER SEVEN MONTHS. BASED ON INFORMATION FROM THREE TRIALS, THERE WAS LOW-CERTAINTY EVIDENCE FOR NO DIFFERENCE IN THE RISK OF ADVERSE EVENTS BETWEEN YOGA AND NON-YOGA EXERCISE CONTROLS (RD 1%, 95% CI -4% TO 6%).FOR YOGA ADDED TO EXERCISE COMPARED TO EXERCISE ALONE (1 TRIAL; 24 PARTICIPANTS), THERE WAS VERY-LOW-CERTAINTY EVIDENCE FOR LITTLE OR NO DIFFERENCE AT 10 WEEKS IN BACK-RELATED FUNCTION (SMD -0.60, 95% CI -1.42 TO 0.22; CORRESPONDING TO A CHANGE IN THE OSWESTRY DISABILITY INDEX OF MD -17.05, 95% -22.96 TO 11.14) OR PAIN ON A 0-100 SCALE (MD -3.20, 95% CI -13.76 TO 7.36). THERE WAS NO INFORMATION ON OUTCOMES AT OTHER TIME POINTS. THERE WAS NO INFORMATION ON ADVERSE EVENTS.STUDIES PROVIDED LIMITED EVIDENCE ON RISK OF CLINICAL IMPROVEMENT, MEASURES OF QUALITY OF LIFE, AND DEPRESSION. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE ON WORK-RELATED DISABILITY. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: THERE IS LOW- TO MODERATE-CERTAINTY EVIDENCE THAT YOGA COMPARED TO NON-EXERCISE CONTROLS RESULTS IN SMALL TO MODERATE IMPROVEMENTS IN BACK-RELATED FUNCTION AT THREE AND SIX MONTHS. YOGA MAY ALSO BE SLIGHTLY MORE EFFECTIVE FOR PAIN AT THREE AND SIX MONTHS, HOWEVER THE EFFECT SIZE DID NOT MEET PREDEFINED LEVELS OF MINIMUM CLINICAL IMPORTANCE. IT IS UNCERTAIN WHETHER THERE IS ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOGA AND OTHER EXERCISE FOR BACK-RELATED FUNCTION OR PAIN, OR WHETHER YOGA ADDED TO EXERCISE IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN EXERCISE ALONE. YOGA IS ASSOCIATED WITH MORE ADVERSE EVENTS THAN NON-EXERCISE CONTROLS, BUT MAY HAVE THE SAME RISK OF ADVERSE EVENTS AS OTHER BACK-FOCUSED EXERCISE. YOGA IS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS. THERE IS A NEED FOR ADDITIONAL HIGH-QUALITY RESEARCH TO IMPROVE CONFIDENCE IN ESTIMATES OF EFFECT, TO EVALUATE LONG-TERM OUTCOMES, AND TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON COMPARISONS BETWEEN YOGA AND OTHER EXERCISE FOR CHRONIC NON-SPECIFIC LOW BACK PAIN. 2017 15 2544 57 YOGA FOR ASTHMA: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND: ALTHOUGH YOGA IS FREQUENTLY USED BY PATIENTS WITH ASTHMA, ITS EFFICACY IN ALLEVIATING ASTHMA REMAINS UNCLEAR. OBJECTIVE: TO SYSTEMATICALLY ASSESS AND META-ANALYZE THE AVAILABLE DATA ON EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF YOGA IN ALLEVIATING ASTHMA. METHODS: MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, THE COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS, PSYCINFO, CAM-QUEST, CAMBASE, AND INDMED WERE SEARCHED THROUGH JANUARY 2014. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS OF YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH ASTHMA WERE INCLUDED IF THEY ASSESSED ASTHMA CONTROL, SYMPTOMS, QUALITY OF LIFE, AND/OR PULMONARY FUNCTION. FOR EACH OUTCOME, STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCES (SMDS) OR RISK RATIOS (RRS) AND 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CIS) WERE CALCULATED. RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE TOOL. RESULTS: FOURTEEN RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS WITH 824 PATIENTS WERE INCLUDED. EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS OF YOGA COMPARED WITH USUAL CARE WAS FOUND FOR ASTHMA CONTROL (RR, 10.64; 95% CI, 1.98 TO 57.19; P = .006), ASTHMA SYMPTOMS (SMD, -0.37; 95% CI, -0.55 TO -0.19; P < .001), QUALITY OF LIFE (SMD, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.39 TO 1.33; P < .001), PEAK EXPIRATORY FLOW RATE (SMD, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.32 TO 0.67; P < .001), AND RATIO OF FORCED EXPIRATORY VOLUME IN 1 SECOND TO FORCED VITAL CAPACITY (SMD, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.24 TO 0.75; P < .001); EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS OF YOGA COMPARED WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS WAS FOUND FOR QUALITY OF LIFE (SMD, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.22 TO 0.99; P = .002) AND PEAK EXPIRATORY FLOW RATE (SMD, 2.87; 95% CI, 0.14 TO 5.60; P = .04). NO EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS OF YOGA COMPARED WITH SHAM YOGA OR BREATHING EXERCISES WAS REVEALED. NO EFFECT WAS ROBUST AGAINST ALL POTENTIAL SOURCES OF BIAS. YOGA WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS. CONCLUSION: YOGA CANNOT BE CONSIDERED A ROUTINE INTERVENTION FOR ASTHMATIC PATIENTS AT THIS POINT. IT CAN BE CONSIDERED AN ANCILLARY INTERVENTION OR AN ALTERNATIVE TO BREATHING EXERCISES FOR ASTHMA PATIENTS INTERESTED IN COMPLEMENTARY INTERVENTIONS. 2014 16 2629 55 YOGA FOR THE PRIMARY PREVENTION OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. BACKGROUND: A SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE AND STRESS ARE MAJOR RISK FACTORS FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE (CVD). SINCE YOGA INVOLVES EXERCISE AND IS THOUGHT TO HELP IN STRESS REDUCTION IT MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE STRATEGY IN THE PRIMARY PREVENTION OF CVD. OBJECTIVES: TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF ANY TYPE OF YOGA ON THE PRIMARY PREVENTION OF CVD. SEARCH METHODS: WE SEARCHED THE FOLLOWING ELECTRONIC DATABASES: THE COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS (CENTRAL) (2013, ISSUE 11) IN THE COCHRANE LIBRARY; MEDLINE (OVID) (1946 TO NOVEMBER WEEK 3 2013); EMBASE CLASSIC + EMBASE (OVID) (1947 TO 2013 WEEK 48); WEB OF SCIENCE (THOMSON REUTERS) (1970 TO 4 DECEMBER 2013); DATABASE OF ABSTRACTS OF REVIEWS OF EFFECTS (DARE), HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT DATABASE AND HEALTH ECONOMICS EVALUATIONS DATABASE (ISSUE 4 OF 4, 2013) IN THE COCHRANE LIBRARY. WE ALSO SEARCHED A NUMBER OF ASIAN DATABASES AND THE ALLIED AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE DATABASE (AMED) (INCEPTION TO DECEMBER 2012). WE SEARCHED TRIAL REGISTERS AND REFERENCE LISTS OF REVIEWS AND ARTICLES, AND APPROACHED EXPERTS IN THE FIELD. WE APPLIED NO LANGUAGE RESTRICTIONS. SELECTION CRITERIA: RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS LASTING AT LEAST THREE MONTHS INVOLVING HEALTHY ADULTS OR THOSE AT HIGH RISK OF CVD. TRIALS EXAMINED ANY TYPE OF YOGA AND THE COMPARISON GROUP WAS NO INTERVENTION OR MINIMAL INTERVENTION. OUTCOMES OF INTEREST WERE CLINICAL CVD EVENTS AND MAJOR CVD RISK FACTORS. WE DID NOT INCLUDE ANY TRIALS THAT INVOLVED MULTIFACTORIAL LIFESTYLE INTERVENTIONS OR WEIGHT LOSS. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: TWO AUTHORS INDEPENDENTLY SELECTED TRIALS FOR INCLUSION, EXTRACTED DATA AND ASSESSED THE RISK OF BIAS. MAIN RESULTS: WE IDENTIFIED 11 TRIALS (800 PARTICIPANTS) AND TWO ONGOING STUDIES. STYLE AND DURATION OF YOGA DIFFERED BETWEEN TRIALS. HALF OF THE PARTICIPANTS RECRUITED TO THE STUDIES WERE AT HIGH RISK OF CVD. MOST OF STUDIES WERE AT RISK OF PERFORMANCE BIAS, WITH INADEQUATE DETAILS REPORTED IN MANY OF THEM TO JUDGE THE RISK OF SELECTION BIAS.NO STUDY REPORTED CARDIOVASCULAR MORTALITY, ALL-CAUSE MORTALITY OR NON-FATAL EVENTS, AND MOST STUDIES WERE SMALL AND SHORT-TERM. THERE WAS SUBSTANTIAL HETEROGENEITY BETWEEN STUDIES MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO COMBINE STUDIES STATISTICALLY FOR SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE AND TOTAL CHOLESTEROL. YOGA WAS FOUND TO PRODUCE REDUCTIONS IN DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (MEAN DIFFERENCE (MD) -2.90 MMHG, 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI) -4.52 TO -1.28), WHICH WAS STABLE ON SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS, TRIGLYCERIDES (MD -0.27 MMOL/L, 95% CI -0.44 TO -0.11) AND HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN (HDL) CHOLESTEROL (MD 0.08 MMOL/L, 95% CI 0.02 TO 0.14). HOWEVER, THE CONTRIBUTING STUDIES WERE SMALL, SHORT-TERM AND AT UNCLEAR OR HIGH RISK OF BIAS. THERE WAS NO CLEAR EVIDENCE OF A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS FOR LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN (LDL) CHOLESTEROL (MD -0.09 MMOL/L, 95% CI -0.48 TO 0.30), ALTHOUGH THERE WAS MODERATE STATISTICAL HETEROGENEITY. ADVERSE EVENTS, OCCURRENCE OF TYPE 2 DIABETES AND COSTS WERE NOT REPORTED IN ANY OF THE INCLUDED STUDIES. QUALITY OF LIFE WAS MEASURED IN THREE TRIALS BUT THE RESULTS WERE INCONCLUSIVE. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: THE LIMITED EVIDENCE COMES FROM SMALL, SHORT-TERM, LOW-QUALITY STUDIES. THERE IS SOME EVIDENCE THAT YOGA HAS FAVOURABLE EFFECTS ON DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, HDL CHOLESTEROL AND TRIGLYCERIDES, AND UNCERTAIN EFFECTS ON LDL CHOLESTEROL. THESE RESULTS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS EXPLORATORY AND INTERPRETED WITH CAUTION. 2014 17 2518 54 YOGA COMPARED TO NON-EXERCISE OR PHYSICAL THERAPY EXERCISE ON PAIN, DISABILITY, AND QUALITY OF LIFE FOR PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN (CLBP) IS A COMMON AND OFTEN DISABLING MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITION. YOGA HAS BEEN PROVEN TO BE AN EFFECTIVE THERAPY FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN. HOWEVER, THERE ARE STILL CONTROVERSIES ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF YOGA AT DIFFERENT FOLLOW-UP PERIODS AND COMPARED WITH OTHER PHYSICAL THERAPY EXERCISES. OBJECTIVE: TO CRITICALLY COMPARE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN ON PAIN, DISABILITY, QUALITY OF LIFE WITH NON-EXERCISE (E.G. USUAL CARE, EDUCATION), PHYSICAL THERAPY EXERCISE. METHODS: THIS STUDY WAS REGISTERED IN PROSPERO, AND THE REGISTRATION NUMBER WAS CRD42020159865. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) OF ONLINE DATABASES INCLUDED PUBMED, WEB OF SCIENCE, COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS, EMBASE WHICH EVALUATED EFFECTS OF YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN ON PAIN, DISABILITY, AND QUALITY OF LIFE WERE SEARCHED FROM INCEPTION TIME TO NOVEMBER 1, 2019. STUDIES WERE ELIGIBLE IF THEY ASSESSED AT LEAST ONE IMPORTANT OUTCOME, NAMELY PAIN, BACK-SPECIFIC DISABILITY, QUALITY OF LIFE. THE COCHRANE RISK OF BIAS TOOL WAS USED TO ASSESS THE METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY OF INCLUDED RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. THE CONTINUOUS OUTCOMES WERE ANALYZED BY CALCULATING THE MEAN DIFFERENCE (MD) OR STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE (SMD) WITH 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CI) ACCORDING TO WHETHER COMBINING OUTCOMES MEASURED ON DIFFERENT SCALES OR NOT. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 18 RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS WERE INCLUDED IN THIS META-ANALYSIS. YOGA COULD SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE PAIN AT 4 TO 8 WEEKS (MD = -0.83, 95% CI = -1.19 TO -0.48, P<0.00001, I2 = 0%), 3 MONTHS (MD = -0.43, 95% CI = -0.64 TO -0.23, P<0.0001, I2 = 0%), 6 TO 7 MONTHS (MD = -0.56, 95% CI = -1.02 TO -0.11, P = 0.02, I2 = 50%), AND WAS NOT SIGNIFICANT IN 12 MONTHS (MD = -0.52, 95% CI = -1.64 TO 0.59, P = 0.36, I2 = 87%) COMPARED WITH NON-EXERCISE. YOGA WAS BETTER THAN NON-EXERCISE ON DISABILITY AT 4 TO 8 WEEKS (SMD = -0.30, 95% CI = -0.51 TO -0.10, P = 0.003, I2 = 0%), 3 MONTHS (SMD = -0.31, 95% CI = -0.45 TO -0.18, P<0.00001, I2 = 30%), 6 MONTHS (SMD = -0.38, 95% CI = -0.53 TO -0.23, P<0.00001, I2 = 0%), 12 MONTHS (SMD = -0.33, 95% CI = -0.54 TO -0.12, P = 0.002, I2 = 9%). THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE ON PAIN, DISABILITY COMPARED WITH PHYSICAL THERAPY EXERCISE GROUP. FURTHERMORE, IT SUGGESTED THAT THERE WAS A NON-SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE ON PHYSICAL AND MENTAL QUALITY OF LIFE BETWEEN YOGA AND ANY OTHER INTERVENTIONS. CONCLUSION: THIS META-ANALYSIS PROVIDED EVIDENCE FROM VERY LOW TO MODERATE INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN PATIENTS AT DIFFERENT TIME POINTS. YOGA MIGHT DECREASE PAIN FROM SHORT TERM TO INTERMEDIATE TERM AND IMPROVE FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY STATUS FROM SHORT TERM TO LONG TERM COMPARED WITH NON-EXERCISE (E.G. USUAL CARE, EDUCATION). YOGA HAD THE SAME EFFECT ON PAIN AND DISABILITY AS ANY OTHER EXERCISE OR PHYSICAL THERAPY. YOGA MIGHT NOT IMPROVE THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL QUALITY OF LIFE BASED ON THE RESULT OF A MERGING. 2020 18 2568 47 YOGA FOR DEPRESSION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND: MIND-BODY MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS ARE COMMONLY USED TO COPE WITH DEPRESSION AND YOGA IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMONLY USED MIND-BODY INTERVENTIONS. THE AIM OF THIS REVIEW WAS TO SYSTEMATICALLY ASSESS AND META-ANALYZE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA FOR DEPRESSION. METHODS: MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, PSYCINFO, AND INDMED WERE SEARCHED THROUGH JANUARY 2013. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) OF YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS AND INDIVIDUALS WITH ELEVATED LEVELS OF DEPRESSION WERE INCLUDED. MAIN OUTCOMES WERE SEVERITY OF DEPRESSION AND REMISSION RATES, SECONDARY OUTCOMES WERE ANXIETY, QUALITY OF LIFE, AND SAFETY. RESULTS: TWELVE RCTS WITH 619 PARTICIPANTS WERE INCLUDED. THREE RCTS HAD LOW RISK OF BIAS. REGARDING SEVERITY OF DEPRESSION, THERE WAS MODERATE EVIDENCE FOR SHORT-TERM EFFECTS OF YOGA COMPARED TO USUAL CARE (STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE (SMD) = -0.69; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI) -0.99, -0.39; P < .001), AND LIMITED EVIDENCE COMPARED TO RELAXATION (SMD = -0.62; 95%CI -1.03, -0.22; P = .003), AND AEROBIC EXERCISE (SMD = -0.59; 95% CI -0.99, -0.18; P = .004). LIMITED EVIDENCE WAS FOUND FOR SHORT-TERM EFFECTS OF YOGA ON ANXIETY COMPARED TO RELAXATION (SMD = -0.79; 95% CI -1.3, -0.26; P = .004). SUBGROUP ANALYSES REVEALED EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS IN PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS AND IN INDIVIDUALS WITH ELEVATED LEVELS OF DEPRESSION. DUE TO THE PAUCITY AND HETEROGENEITY OF THE RCTS, NO META-ANALYSES ON LONG-TERM EFFECTS WERE POSSIBLE. NO RCT REPORTED SAFETY DATA. CONCLUSIONS: DESPITE METHODOLOGICAL DRAWBACKS OF THE INCLUDED STUDIES, YOGA COULD BE CONSIDERED AN ANCILLARY TREATMENT OPTION FOR PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS AND INDIVIDUALS WITH ELEVATED LEVELS OF DEPRESSION. 2013 19 2599 44 YOGA FOR OSTEOARTHRITIS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. PURPOSE OF REVIEW: THIS STUDY AIMS TO SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEW AND SUMMARISE THE EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF YOGA FOR OSTEOARTHRITIS. MEDLINE (THROUGH PUBMED), SCOPUS, AND THE COCHRANE LIBRARY WERE SEARCHED THROUGH APRIL 2018 FOR RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS OF YOGA FOR OSTEOARTHRITIS. PRIMARY OUTCOMES WERE PAIN INTENSITY, FUNCTION, AND QUALITY OF LIFE; SECONDARY OUTCOMES WERE MENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY. RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE TOOL AND QUALITY OF EVIDENCE THROUGH GRADE. RECENT FINDINGS: NINE TRIALS INCLUDING 640 INDIVIDUALS WITH MAINLY LOWER EXTREMITY OSTEOARTHRITIS AGED 50-80 YEARS WERE IDENTIFIED, WITH 80.3% FEMALE PARTICIPANTS (MEDIAN). META-ANALYSES REVEALED VERY LOW-QUALITY EVIDENCE FOR THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PAIN (VS. EXERCISE: STANDARDISED MEAN DIFFERENCE (SMD) = - 1.07; 95%CI - 1.92, - 0.21; P = 0.01; VS. NON-EXERCISE: SMD = - 0.75; 95%CI - 1.18, - 0.31; P < 0.001), PHYSICAL FUNCTION (VS. EXERCISE: SMD = 0.80; 95%CI 0.36; 1.24; P < 0.001; VS. NON-EXERCISE: SMD = 0.60; 95%CI 0.30, 0.98; P < 0.001), AND STIFFNESS (VS. EXERCISE: SMD = - 0.92; 95%CI - 1.69, - 0.14; P = 0.008; VS. NON-EXERCISE: SMD = - 0.76; 95%CI - 1.26, - 0.26; P = 0.003) IN INDIVIDUALS WITH KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS. EFFECTS WERE NOT ROBUST AGAINST POTENTIAL METHODOLOGICAL BIAS. NO EFFECTS WERE FOUND FOR QUALITY OF LIFE, AND DEPRESSION, OR FOR HAND OSTEOARTHRITIS. SAFETY WAS RARELY REPORTED. THE FINDINGS OF THIS META-ANALYSIS INDICATE THAT YOGA MAY BE EFFECTIVE FOR IMPROVING PAIN, FUNCTION, AND STIFFNESS IN INDIVIDUALS WITH OSTEOARTHRITIS OF THE KNEE, COMPARED TO EXERCISE AND NON-EXERCISE CONTROL GROUPS. DUE TO THE LOW METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY AND POTENTIAL RISK OF BIAS, ONLY A WEAK RECOMMENDATION CAN BE MADE AT THIS TIME FOR THE USE OF YOGA IN ADULTS WITH OSTEOARTHRITIS OF THE KNEE. 2019 20 2124 29 THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PRENATAL YOGA ON DELIVERY OUTCOMES: A META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND: THE EFFICACY OF YOGA ON DELIVERY OUTCOMES REMAINING CONTROVERSY. OBJECTIVES: TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF PRENATAL YOGA ON DELIVERY OUTCOMES. METHODS: THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, PUBMED, EMBASE, WEB OF SCIENCE, CINAHL AND ELSEVIER DATABASES WERE SEARCHED FROM INCEPTION TO JANUARY 22, 2020, AND RANDOMIZED, QUASI-RANDOMIZED AND NON-RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS EVALUATING THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON THE DELIVERY OUTCOMES IN PREGNANT WOMEN WERE INCLUDED. THE METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY WAS ASSESSED BY THE COCHRANE COLLABORATION'S TOOL. META-ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED USING REVMAN 5.3. RESULTS: THIS META-ANALYSIS IDENTIFIED THAT YOGA IMPROVED VAGINAL DELIVERY, DECREASED PREMATURE DELIVERY AND BIRTH WEIGHT OF NEWBORNS, SHORTEN THE LABOR DURATION. CONCLUSION: PRENATAL YOGA IS AN EFFECTIVE COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE TO IMPROVE DELIVERY OUTCOMES AND NOT TO INCREASE THE RISK OF FETUS, WHICH IS WORTH RECOMMENDING TO PREGNANT WOMEN. BUT STUDIES INVOLVED IN THIS META-ANALYSIS WERE NOT ALL OF HIGH QUALITY. THE REGISTRATION NUMBER IN PROSPERO IS CRD42019132490. 2020