1 2408 169 YOGA AND HEALTHCARE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. THE EMERGENCE OF YOGA THERAPY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM BEGAN ABOUT 45 YEARS AGO WITH THE EMERGENCE OF YOGA THERAPY ORGANIZATIONS THAT OFFERED BOTH TREATMENT AND TRAINING. THE INTEGRATION OF YOGA INTO THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE (NHS) IS GRADUALLY HAPPENING BECAUSE: (A) YOGA RESEARCH SUPPORTS ITS EFFICACY AS A COST-EFFECTIVE, PREVENTIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY TREATMENT FOR A HOST OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES; AND (B) THE ESCALATING ECONOMIC BURDEN OF LONG-TERM CONDITIONS IS OVERWHELMING THE NHS. THE NHS IS ACTIVELY DEVELOPING 'SUSTAINABILITY AND TRANSFORMATION PLANS' THAT INCLUDE YOGA. CHIEF AMONG THESE IS 'SOCIAL PRESCRIBING,' WHICH EMPOWERS PATIENTS WITH COMPLEX HEALTH NEEDS THROUGH ACTIVITIES GROUPS. THESE ACTIVITIES REDUCE SEDENTARY HABITS AND SOCIAL ISOLATION, WHILE HELPING PATIENTS TO BE MORE SELF-RELIANT. THE NHS HAS ALLOCATED POUND450 MILLION IN FUNDING TO IMPLEMENT A VARIETY OF PROGRAMS FOR ITS OWN STAFF, IN WHICH STAFF YOGA CLASSES WERE EXPRESSLY MENTIONED. THE YOGA COMMUNITY IS MOBILIZING FORCES AND APPLYING FOR FUNDING TO PILOT RELEVANT NHS STAFF YOGA COURSES THAT CAN SUPPORT THE SERVICE IN ACHIEVING ITS VISION. RESEARCH SHOWS THAT INTEGRATING YOGA THERAPY FOR THE TREATMENT OF LOW BACK PAIN (LBP) INTO THE NHS WOULD RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT COST SAVINGS AS COMPARED WITH USUAL CARE. THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH AND CARE EXCELLENCE (NICE) GUIDELINES ON LBP AND SCIATICA INCLUDE YOGA AS ONE OF THE RECOMMENDED TREATMENTS FOR THESE CONDITIONS. THREE GROUPS OF YOGA TEACHERS, USING DIFFERENT YOGA PRACTICES, HAVE GAINED TRACTION WITH THE NHS FOR THE APPLICATION OF YOGA THERAPY TO LBP. MANY REGIONAL HOSPITALS IN ENGLAND HAVE YOGA CLASSES. THE NHS CHOICES WEBSITE, WHICH CONVEYS INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC REGARDING TREATMENT OPTIONS, HAS A PAGE DEDICATED TO THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF YOGA. SEVERAL INSTITUTIONS OFFER COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING PROGRAMS IN YOGA THERAPY AND YOGA THERAPY IS RECOGNIZED AS AN OFFICIAL PROFESSION. THE YOGA IN HEALTHCARE ALLIANCE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED TO HELP INTEGRATE YOGA THERAPY INTO THE NHS. THIS CONSISTS OF PARLIAMENTARIANS, LEADERS IN THE NHS, YOGA RESEARCHERS, HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, AND REPRESENTATIVES FROM LEADING YOGA ORGANIZATIONS. 2017 2 2636 43 YOGA FOR TREATING URINARY INCONTINENCE IN WOMEN. BACKGROUND: URINARY INCONTINENCE IN WOMEN IS ASSOCIATED WITH POOR QUALITY OF LIFE AND DIFFICULTIES IN SOCIAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SEXUAL FUNCTIONING. THE CONDITION MAY AFFECT UP TO 15% OF MIDDLE-AGED OR OLDER WOMEN IN THE GENERAL POPULATION. CONSERVATIVE TREATMENTS SUCH AS LIFESTYLE INTERVENTIONS, BLADDER TRAINING AND PELVIC FLOOR MUSCLE TRAINING (USED EITHER ALONE OR IN COMBINATION WITH OTHER INTERVENTIONS) ARE THE INITIAL APPROACHES TO THE MANAGEMENT OF URINARY INCONTINENCE. MANY WOMEN ARE INTERESTED IN ADDITIONAL TREATMENTS SUCH AS YOGA, A SYSTEM OF PHILOSOPHY, LIFESTYLE AND PHYSICAL PRACTICE THAT ORIGINATED IN ANCIENT INDIA. OBJECTIVES: TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF YOGA FOR TREATING URINARY INCONTINENCE IN WOMEN. SEARCH METHODS: WE SEARCHED THE COCHRANE INCONTINENCE AND COCHRANE COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE SPECIALISED REGISTERS. WE SEARCHED THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION INTERNATIONAL CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY PLATFORM (WHO ICTRP) AND CLINICALTRIALS.GOV TO IDENTIFY ANY ONGOING OR UNPUBLISHED STUDIES. WE HANDSEARCHED PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE RESEARCH AND THE EUROPEAN CONGRESS FOR INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE. WE SEARCHED THE NHS ECONOMIC EVALUATION DATABASE FOR ECONOMIC STUDIES, AND SUPPLEMENTED THIS SEARCH WITH SEARCHES FOR ECONOMICS STUDIES IN MEDLINE AND EMBASE FROM 2015 ONWARDS. DATABASE SEARCHES ARE UP-TO-DATE AS OF 21 JUNE 2018. SELECTION CRITERIA: RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS IN WOMEN DIAGNOSED WITH URINARY INCONTINENCE IN WHICH ONE GROUP WAS ALLOCATED TO TREATMENT WITH YOGA. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: TWO REVIEW AUTHORS INDEPENDENTLY SCREENED TITLES AND ABSTRACTS OF ALL RETRIEVED ARTICLES, SELECTED STUDIES FOR INCLUSION, EXTRACTED DATA, ASSESSED RISK OF BIAS AND EVALUATED THE CERTAINTY OF THE EVIDENCE FOR EACH REPORTED OUTCOME. ANY DISAGREEMENTS WERE RESOLVED BY CONSENSUS. WE PLANNED TO COMBINE CLINICALLY COMPARABLE STUDIES IN REVIEW MANAGER 5 USING RANDOM-EFFECTS META-ANALYSIS AND TO CARRY OUT SENSITIVITY AND SUBGROUP ANALYSES. WE PLANNED TO CREATE A TABLE LISTING ECONOMIC STUDIES ON YOGA FOR INCONTINENCE BUT NOT CARRY OUT ANY ANALYSES ON THESE STUDIES. MAIN RESULTS: WE INCLUDED TWO STUDIES (INVOLVING A TOTAL OF 49 WOMEN). EACH STUDY COMPARED YOGA TO A DIFFERENT COMPARATOR, THEREFORE WE WERE UNABLE TO COMBINE THE DATA IN A META-ANALYSIS. A THIRD STUDY THAT HAS BEEN COMPLETED BUT NOT YET FULLY REPORTED IS AWAITING ASSESSMENT.ONE INCLUDED STUDY WAS A SIX-WEEK STUDY COMPARING YOGA TO A WAITING LIST IN 19 WOMEN WITH EITHER URGENCY URINARY INCONTINENCE OR STRESS URINARY INCONTINENCE. WE JUDGED THE CERTAINTY OF THE EVIDENCE FOR ALL REPORTED OUTCOMES AS VERY LOW DUE TO PERFORMANCE BIAS, DETECTION BIAS, AND IMPRECISION. THE NUMBER OF WOMEN REPORTING CURE WAS NOT REPORTED. WE ARE UNCERTAIN WHETHER YOGA RESULTS IN SATISFACTION WITH CURE OR IMPROVEMENT OF INCONTINENCE (RISK RATIO (RR) 6.33, 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI) 1.44 TO 27.88; AN INCREASE OF 592 FROM 111 PER 1000, 95% CI 160 TO 1000). WE ARE UNCERTAIN WHETHER THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOGA AND WAITING LIST IN CONDITION-SPECIFIC QUALITY OF LIFE AS MEASURED ON THE INCONTINENCE IMPACT QUESTIONNAIRE SHORT FORM (MEAN DIFFERENCE (MD) 1.74, 95% CI -33.02 TO 36.50); THE NUMBER OF MICTURITIONS (MD -0.77, 95% CI -2.13 TO 0.59); THE NUMBER OF INCONTINENCE EPISODES (MD -1.57, 95% CI -2.83 TO -0.31); OR THE BOTHERSOMENESS OF INCONTINENCE AS MEASURED ON THE UROGENITAL DISTRESS INVENTORY 6 (MD -0.90, 95% CI -1.46 TO -0.34). THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF A DIFFERENCE IN THE NUMBER OF WOMEN WHO EXPERIENCED AT LEAST ONE ADVERSE EVENT (RISK DIFFERENCE 0%, 95% CI -38% TO 38%; NO DIFFERENCE FROM 222 PER 1000, 95% CI 380 FEWER TO 380 MORE).THE SECOND INCLUDED STUDY WAS AN EIGHT-WEEK STUDY IN 30 WOMEN WITH URGENCY URINARY INCONTINENCE THAT COMPARED MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION (MBSR) TO AN ACTIVE CONTROL INTERVENTION OF YOGA CLASSES. THE STUDY WAS UNBLINDED, AND THERE WAS HIGH ATTRITION FROM BOTH STUDY ARMS FOR ALL OUTCOME ASSESSMENTS. WE JUDGED THE CERTAINTY OF THE EVIDENCE FOR ALL REPORTED OUTCOMES AS VERY LOW DUE TO PERFORMANCE BIAS, ATTRITION BIAS, IMPRECISION AND INDIRECTNESS. THE NUMBER OF WOMEN REPORTING CURE WAS NOT REPORTED. WE ARE UNCERTAIN WHETHER WOMEN IN THE YOGA GROUP WERE LESS LIKELY TO REPORT IMPROVEMENT IN INCONTINENCE AT EIGHT WEEKS COMPARED TO WOMEN IN THE MBSR GROUP (RR 0.09, 95% CI 0.01 TO 1.43; A DECREASE OF 419 FROM 461 PER 1000, 95% CI 5 TO 660). WE ARE UNCERTAIN ABOUT THE EFFECT OF MBSR COMPARED TO YOGA ON REPORTS OF CURE OR IMPROVEMENT IN INCONTINENCE, IMPROVEMENT IN CONDITION-SPECIFIC QUALITY OF LIFE MEASURED ON THE OVERACTIVE BLADDER HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE SCALE, REDUCTION IN INCONTINENCE EPISODES OR REDUCTION IN BOTHERSOMENESS OF INCONTINENCE AS MEASURED ON THE OVERACTIVE BLADDER SYMPTOM AND QUALITY OF LIFE-SHORT FORM AT EIGHT WEEKS. THE STUDY DID NOT REPORT ON ADVERSE EFFECTS. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: WE IDENTIFIED FEW TRIALS ON YOGA FOR INCONTINENCE, AND THE EXISTING TRIALS WERE SMALL AND AT HIGH RISK OF BIAS. IN ADDITION, WE DID NOT FIND ANY STUDIES OF ECONOMIC OUTCOMES RELATED TO YOGA FOR URINARY INCONTINENCE. DUE TO THE LACK OF EVIDENCE TO ANSWER THE REVIEW QUESTION, WE ARE UNCERTAIN WHETHER YOGA IS USEFUL FOR WOMEN WITH URINARY INCONTINENCE. ADDITIONAL, WELL-CONDUCTED TRIALS WITH LARGER SAMPLE SIZES ARE NEEDED. 2019 3 558 33 COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA FOR MANAGING MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS IN THE WORKPLACE. BACKGROUND: BACK PAIN AND MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS NEGATIVELY AFFECT THE HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQL) OF EMPLOYEES AND GENERATE SUBSTANTIAL COSTS TO EMPLOYERS. AIMS: TO ASSESS THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA FOR MANAGING MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS. METHODS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL EVALUATED AN 8-WEEK YOGA PROGRAMME, WITH A 6-MONTH FOLLOW-UP, FOR NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE (NHS) EMPLOYEES. EFFECTIVENESS IN MANAGING MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS WAS ASSESSED USING REPEATED-MEASURES GENERALIZED LINEAR MODELLING FOR THE ROLAND-MORRIS DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE (RDQ) AND THE KEELE START BACK SCREENING TOOL. COST-EFFECTIVENESS WAS DETERMINED USING AREA-UNDER-THE-CURVE LINEAR REGRESSION FOR ASSESSING HRQL FROM HEALTHCARE AND SOCIETAL PERSPECTIVES. THE INCREMENTAL COST PER QUALITY-ADJUSTED LIFE YEAR (QALY) WAS ALSO CALCULATED. SICKNESS ABSENCE WAS MEASURED USING ELECTRONIC STAFF RECORDS AT 6 MONTHS. RESULTS: THERE WERE 151 PARTICIPANTS. AT 6 MONTHS, MEAN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS FAVOURING YOGA WERE OBSERVED FOR RDQ [-0.63 (95% CI, -1.78, 0.48)], KEELE START [-0.28 (95% CI, -0.97, 0.07)] AND HRQL (0.016 QALY GAIN). FROM A HEALTHCARE PERSPECTIVE, YOGA YIELDED AN INCREMENTAL COST-EFFECTIVENESS RATIO OF POUND2103 PER QALY. GIVEN A WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR AN ADDITIONAL QALY OF POUND20 000, THE PROBABILITY OF YOGA BEING COST-EFFECTIVE WAS 95%. FROM A SOCIETAL PERSPECTIVE, YOGA WAS THE DOMINANT TREATMENT COMPARED WITH USUAL CARE. AT 6 MONTHS, ELECTRONIC STAFF RECORDS SHOWED THAT YOGA PARTICIPANTS MISSED A TOTAL OF 2 WORKING DAYS DUE TO MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS COMPARED WITH 43 DAYS FOR USUAL CARE PARTICIPANTS. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA FOR NHS EMPLOYEES MAY ENHANCE HRQL, REDUCE DISABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH BACK PAIN, LOWER SICKNESS ABSENCE DUE TO MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS AND IS LIKELY TO BE COST-EFFECTIVE. 2017 4 1172 41 EVALUATION OF A SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) BASED BREATH INTERVENTION FOR PATIENTS WITH MILD-TO-MODERATE DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY DISORDERS. AIM: RESEARCH IDENTIFIES A NEED FOR EXPANDED THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH MILD-TO-MODERATE DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY DISORDERS TREATED WITHIN THE UK NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE (NHS). WE AIMED TO EXAMINE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF A SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) BASED BREATH INTERVENTION DELIVERED IN THIS CONTEXT. BACKGROUND: SKY IS A STRUCTURED PROGRAMME DERIVED FROM YOGA IN WHICH PARTICIPANTS ARE TAUGHT RELAXATION AND STRESS-MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES INCLUDING BODY POSTURES, BREATHING EXERCISES AND COGNITIVE-BEHAVIOURAL PROCEDURES. PREVIOUS RESEARCH HAS DEMONSTRATED BENEFITS FOR PATIENTS WITH CLINICAL AND NON-CLINICAL DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY. HOWEVER, SKY HAS NOT YET BEEN EVALUATED AS A THERAPEUTIC OPTION FOR PATIENTS ACCESSING NHS PRIMARY CARE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES. METHODS: WE EVALUATED AN EXISTING PROGRAMME AVAILABLE TO NHS PATIENTS IN SOUTH EAST ENGLAND. THE INTERVENTION IS COMMUNITY-BASED AND DELIVERED VIA FOUR WEEKLY 'STRESS BUSTER SESSIONS' (1-H DURATION), ONE WEEKEND INTENSIVE WORKSHOP (2.5 DAYS) AND FOUR WEEKLY (90 MIN) FOLLOW-UP SESSIONS. ANALYSES WERE CONDUCTED ON EXISTING DATA [MEASURES OF DEPRESSION (PATIENT HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE-9) AND ANXIETY (GENERALISED ANXIETY DISORDER-7)] COLLECTED AS PART OF ROUTINE CARE, AT THE START OF THE PROGRAMME AND THREE FOLLOW-UP ASSESSMENTS. FINDINGS: BASELINE DATA WERE AVAILABLE FOR 991 PARTICIPANTS, OF WHICH 557 (56.2%) ATTENDED AT LEAST THREE WEEKLY WORKSHOPS, 216 (21.8%) ATTENDED THE WEEKEND WORKSHOP AND 169 (17.1%) COMPLETED THE PROGRAMME. STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT (P<0.05) IMPROVEMENTS IN DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY WERE OBSERVED IN ALL THREE OUTCOME ASSESSMENTS. CLINICALLY MEANINGFUL CHANGE WAS OBSERVED FOR 74.6% OF PARTICIPANTS COMPLETING THE PROGRAMME. FINDINGS INDICATE THAT SKY HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BENEFIT PATIENT OUTCOMES AND COULD BE OFFERED MORE WIDELY AS A THERAPEUTIC OPTION. WE RECOMMEND FURTHER RESEARCH TO EXPLORE PATIENTS' EXPERIENCES OF THE PROGRAMME, DETERMINE THE NUMBER OF SESSIONS NECESSARY FOR IMPROVEMENT/ RECOVERY, DEFINE THE POPULATION MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND AND EXAMINE POTENTIAL COST SAVINGS (E.G., REDUCTIONS IN ANTIDEPRESSANT PRESCRIBING/REFERRALS TO SECONDARY CARE). 2019 5 2821 40 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 6 2820 36 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 7 2543 45 YOGA FOR ASTHMA. BACKGROUND: ASTHMA IS A COMMON CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISORDER AFFECTING ABOUT 300 MILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE. AS A HOLISTIC THERAPY, YOGA HAS THE POTENTIAL TO RELIEVE BOTH THE PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SUFFERING OF PEOPLE WITH ASTHMA, AND ITS POPULARITY HAS EXPANDED GLOBALLY. A NUMBER OF CLINICAL TRIALS HAVE BEEN CARRIED OUT TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE, WITH INCONSISTENT RESULTS. OBJECTIVES: TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF YOGA IN PEOPLE WITH ASTHMA. SEARCH METHODS: WE SYSTEMATICALLY SEARCHED THE COCHRANE AIRWAYS GROUP REGISTER OF TRIALS, WHICH IS DERIVED FROM SYSTEMATIC SEARCHES OF BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATABASES INCLUDING THE COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, AND PSYCINFO, AND HANDSEARCHING OF RESPIRATORY JOURNALS AND MEETING ABSTRACTS. WE ALSO SEARCHED PEDRO. WE SEARCHED CLINICALTRIALS.GOV AND THE WHO ICTRP SEARCH PORTAL. WE SEARCHED ALL DATABASES FROM THEIR INCEPTION TO 22 JULY 2015, AND USED NO RESTRICTION ON LANGUAGE OF PUBLICATION. WE CHECKED THE REFERENCE LISTS OF ELIGIBLE STUDIES AND RELEVANT REVIEW ARTICLES FOR ADDITIONAL STUDIES. WE ATTEMPTED TO CONTACT INVESTIGATORS OF ELIGIBLE STUDIES AND EXPERTS IN THE FIELD TO LEARN OF OTHER PUBLISHED AND UNPUBLISHED STUDIES. SELECTION CRITERIA: WE INCLUDED RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) THAT COMPARED YOGA WITH USUAL CARE (OR NO INTERVENTION) OR SHAM INTERVENTION IN PEOPLE WITH ASTHMA AND REPORTED AT LEAST ONE OF THE FOLLOWING OUTCOMES: QUALITY OF LIFE, ASTHMA SYMPTOM SCORE, ASTHMA CONTROL, LUNG FUNCTION MEASURES, ASTHMA MEDICATION USAGE, AND ADVERSE EVENTS. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: WE EXTRACTED BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION, CHARACTERISTICS OF PARTICIPANTS, CHARACTERISTICS OF INTERVENTIONS AND CONTROLS, CHARACTERISTICS OF METHODOLOGY, AND RESULTS FOR THE OUTCOMES OF OUR INTEREST FROM ELIGIBLE STUDIES. FOR CONTINUOUS OUTCOMES, WE USED MEAN DIFFERENCE (MD) WITH 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI) TO DENOTE THE TREATMENT EFFECTS, IF THE OUTCOMES WERE MEASURED BY THE SAME SCALE ACROSS STUDIES. ALTERNATIVELY, IF THE OUTCOMES WERE MEASURED BY DIFFERENT SCALES ACROSS STUDIES, WE USED STANDARDISED MEAN DIFFERENCE (SMD) WITH 95% CI. FOR DICHOTOMOUS OUTCOMES, WE USED RISK RATIO (RR) WITH 95% CI TO MEASURE THE TREATMENT EFFECTS. WE PERFORMED META-ANALYSIS WITH REVIEW MANAGER 5.3. WE USED THE FIXED-EFFECT MODEL TO POOL THE DATA, UNLESS THERE WAS SUBSTANTIAL HETEROGENEITY AMONG STUDIES, IN WHICH CASE WE USED THE RANDOM-EFFECTS MODEL INSTEAD. FOR OUTCOMES INAPPROPRIATE OR IMPOSSIBLE TO POOL QUANTITATIVELY, WE CONDUCTED A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS AND SUMMARISED THE FINDINGS NARRATIVELY. MAIN RESULTS: WE INCLUDED 15 RCTS WITH A TOTAL OF 1048 PARTICIPANTS. MOST OF THE TRIALS WERE CONDUCTED IN INDIA, FOLLOWED BY EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES. THE MAJORITY OF PARTICIPANTS WERE ADULTS OF BOTH SEXES WITH MILD TO MODERATE ASTHMA FOR SIX MONTHS TO MORE THAN 23 YEARS. FIVE STUDIES INCLUDED YOGA BREATHING ALONE, WHILE THE OTHER STUDIES ASSESSED YOGA INTERVENTIONS THAT INCLUDED BREATHING, POSTURE, AND MEDITATION. INTERVENTIONS LASTED FROM TWO WEEKS TO 54 MONTHS, FOR NO MORE THAN SIX MONTHS IN THE MAJORITY OF STUDIES. THE RISK OF BIAS WAS LOW ACROSS ALL DOMAINS IN ONE STUDY AND UNCLEAR OR HIGH IN AT LEAST ONE DOMAIN FOR THE REMAINDER.THERE WAS SOME EVIDENCE THAT YOGA MAY IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE (MD IN ASTHMA QUALITY OF LIFE QUESTIONNAIRE (AQLQ) SCORE PER ITEM 0.57 UNITS ON A 7-POINT SCALE, 95% CI 0.37 TO 0.77; 5 STUDIES; 375 PARTICIPANTS), IMPROVE SYMPTOMS (SMD 0.37, 95% CI 0.09 TO 0.65; 3 STUDIES; 243 PARTICIPANTS), AND REDUCE MEDICATION USAGE (RR 5.35, 95% CI 1.29 TO 22.11; 2 STUDIES) IN PEOPLE WITH ASTHMA. THE MD FOR AQLQ SCORE EXCEEDED THE MINIMAL CLINICALLY IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE (MCID) OF 0.5, BUT WHETHER THE MEAN CHANGES EXCEEDED THE MCID FOR ASTHMA SYMPTOMS IS UNCERTAIN DUE TO THE LACK OF AN ESTABLISHED MCID IN THE SEVERITY SCORES USED IN THE INCLUDED STUDIES. THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON CHANGE FROM BASELINE FORCED EXPIRATORY VOLUME IN ONE SECOND (MD 0.04 LITRES, 95% CI -0.10 TO 0.19; 7 STUDIES; 340 PARTICIPANTS; I(2) = 68%) WERE NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. TWO STUDIES INDICATED IMPROVED ASTHMA CONTROL, BUT DUE TO VERY SIGNIFICANT HETEROGENEITY (I(2) = 98%) WE DID NOT POOL DATA. NO SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS ASSOCIATED WITH YOGA WERE REPORTED, BUT THE DATA ON THIS OUTCOME WAS LIMITED. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: WE FOUND MODERATE-QUALITY EVIDENCE THAT YOGA PROBABLY LEADS TO SMALL IMPROVEMENTS IN QUALITY OF LIFE AND SYMPTOMS IN PEOPLE WITH ASTHMA. THERE IS MORE UNCERTAINTY ABOUT POTENTIAL ADVERSE EFFECTS OF YOGA AND ITS IMPACT ON LUNG FUNCTION AND MEDICATION USAGE. RCTS WITH A LARGE SAMPLE SIZE AND HIGH METHODOLOGICAL AND REPORTING QUALITY ARE NEEDED TO CONFIRM THE EFFECTS OF YOGA FOR ASTHMA. 2016 8 2657 39 YOGA IN ADDITION TO STANDARD CARE FOR PATIENTS WITH HAEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES. BACKGROUND: HAEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES ARE MALIGNANT NEOPLASMS OF THE MYELOID OR LYMPHATIC CELL LINES INCLUDING LEUKAEMIA, LYMPHOMA AND MYELOMA. IN ORDER TO MANAGE PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE DISEASE AND ITS TREATMENT, COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES LIKE YOGA ARE COMING INCREASINGLY INTO FOCUS. HOWEVER, THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA PRACTICE FOR PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM HAEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES REMAINS UNCLEAR. OBJECTIVES: TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE IN ADDITION TO STANDARD CANCER TREATMENT FOR PEOPLE WITH HAEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES. SEARCH METHODS: OUR SEARCH STRATEGY INCLUDED THE COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS (CENTRAL), MEDLINE (1950 TO 4TH FEBRUARY 2014), DATABASES OF ONGOING TRIALS (CONTROLLED-TRIALS.COM; CLINICALTRIALS.GOV), CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY, THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HEMATOLOGY, THE EUROPEAN HAEMATOLOGY ASSOCIATION, THE EUROPEAN CONGRESS FOR INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE, AND GLOBAL ADVANCES IN HEALTH AND MEDICINE. WE HANDSEARCHED REFERENCES OF THESE STUDIES FROM IDENTIFIED TRIALS AND RELEVANT REVIEW ARTICLES. TWO REVIEW AUTHORS INDEPENDENTLY SCREENED THE SEARCH RESULTS. SELECTION CRITERIA: WE INCLUDED RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) OF YOGA IN ADDITION TO STANDARD CARE FOR HAEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES COMPARED WITH STANDARD CARE ONLY. WE DID NOT RESTRICT THIS TO ANY SPECIFIC STYLE OF YOGA. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: TWO REVIEW AUTHORS INDEPENDENTLY EXTRACTED DATA FOR ELIGIBLE STUDIES AND ASSESSED THE RISK OF BIAS ACCORDING TO PREDEFINED CRITERIA. WE EVALUATED DISTRESS, FATIGUE, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND QUALITY OF SLEEP. FURTHER OUTCOMES WE PLANNED TO ASSESS WERE HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQOL), OVERALL SURVIVAL (OS) AND ADVERSE EVENTS (AE), BUT DATA ON THESE WERE NOT AVAILABLE. MAIN RESULTS: OUR SEARCH STRATEGIES LED TO 149 POTENTIALLY RELEVANT REFERENCES, BUT ONLY A SINGLE SMALL STUDY MET OUR INCLUSION CRITERIA. THE INCLUDED STUDY WAS PUBLISHED AS A FULL TEXT ARTICLE AND INVESTIGATED THE FEASIBILITY AND EFFECT OF TIBETAN YOGA ADDITIONAL TO STANDARD CARE (N = 20; 1 PERSON DROPPED OUT BEFORE ATTENDING ANY CLASSES AND NO DATA WERE COLLECTED) COMPARED TO STANDARD CARE ONLY (N = 19). THE STUDY INCLUDED PEOPLE WITH ALL STAGES OF HODGKIN AND NON-HODGKIN'S LYMPHOMA, WITH AND WITHOUT CURRENT CANCER TREATMENT. THE MEAN AGE WAS 51 YEARS.WE JUDGED THE OVERALL RISK OF BIAS AS HIGH AS WE FOUND A HIGH RISK FOR PERFORMANCE, DETECTION AND ATTRITION BIAS. ADDITIONALLY, POTENTIAL OUTCOME REPORTING BIAS COULD NOT BE COMPLETELY RULED OUT. FOLLOWING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF GRADE, WE JUDGED THE OVERALL QUALITY OF THE BODY OF EVIDENCE FOR ALL PREDEFINED OUTCOMES AS 'VERY LOW', DUE TO THE METHODICAL LIMITATIONS AND THE VERY SMALL SAMPLE SIZE.THE INFLUENCE OF YOGA ON HRQOL AND OS WAS NOT REPORTED. THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT YOGA IN ADDITION TO STANDARD CARE COMPARED WITH STANDARD CARE ONLY CAN IMPROVE DISTRESS IN PEOPLE WITH HAEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES (MEAN DIFFERENCE (MD) -0.30, 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI) -5.55 TO 4.95; P = 0.91). SIMILARLY, THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EITHER GROUP FOR FATIGUE (MD 0.00, 95% CI -0.94 TO 0.94; P = 1.00), ANXIETY (MD 0.30, 95% CI -5.01 TO 5.61; P = 0.91) OR DEPRESSION (MD -0.70, 95% CI -3.21 TO 1.81; P = 0.58).THERE IS VERY LOW QUALITY EVIDENCE THAT YOGA IMPROVES THE OVERALL QUALITY OF SLEEP (MD -2.30, 95% CI -3.78 TO -0.82; P = 0.002). THE YOGA GROUPS' TOTAL SCORE FOR THE PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INDEX (PSQI) WAS 5.8 (+/- 2.3 SD) AND BETTER THAN THE TOTAL SCORE (8.1 (+/- 2.4 SD)) OF THE CONTROL GROUP. A PSQI TOTAL SCORE OF 0 TO 5 INDICATES GOOD SLEEP WHEREAS PSQI TOTAL SCORE 6 TO 21 POINTS TOWARDS SIGNIFICANT SLEEP DISTURBANCES. THE OCCURRENCE OF AES WAS NOT REPORTED. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: THE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE DATA PROVIDE LITTLE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS FOR PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM HAEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES. THE FINDING THAT YOGA MAY BE BENEFICIAL FOR THE PATIENTS' QUALITY OF SLEEP IS BASED ON A VERY SMALL BODY OF EVIDENCE. THEREFORE, THE ROLE OF YOGA AS AN ADDITIONAL THERAPY FOR HAEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES REMAINS UNCLEAR. FURTHER HIGH-QUALITY RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS WITH LARGER NUMBERS OF PARTICIPANTS ARE NEEDED TO MAKE A DEFINITIVE STATEMENT. 2014 9 2827 39 YOGA VERSUS NON-STANDARD CARE FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS AN ANCIENT SPIRITUAL PRACTICE THAT ORIGINATED IN INDIA AND IS CURRENTLY ACCEPTED IN THE WESTERN WORLD AS A FORM OF RELAXATION AND EXERCISE. IT HAS BEEN OF INTEREST FOR PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA AS AN ALTERNATIVE OR ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT. OBJECTIVES: TO SYSTEMATICALLY ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF YOGA VERSUS NON-STANDARD CARE FOR PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA. SEARCH METHODS: THE INFORMATION SPECIALIST OF THE COCHRANE SCHIZOPHRENIA GROUP SEARCHED THEIR SPECIALISED TRIALS REGISTER (LATEST 30 MARCH 2017), WHICH IS BASED ON REGULAR SEARCHES OF MEDLINE, PUBMED, EMBASE, CINAHL, BIOSIS, AMED, PSYCINFO, AND REGISTRIES OF CLINICAL TRIALS. WE SEARCHED THE REFERENCES OF ALL INCLUDED STUDIES. THERE ARE NO LANGUAGE, DATE, DOCUMENT TYPE, OR PUBLICATION STATUS LIMITATIONS FOR INCLUSION OF RECORDS IN THE REGISTER. SELECTION CRITERIA: ALL RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) INCLUDING PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA AND COMPARING YOGA WITH NON-STANDARD CARE. WE INCLUDED TRIALS THAT MET OUR SELECTION CRITERIA AND REPORTED USEABLE DATA. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: THE REVIEW TEAM INDEPENDENTLY SELECTED STUDIES, ASSESSED QUALITY, AND EXTRACTED DATA. FOR BINARY OUTCOMES, WE CALCULATED RISK RATIO (RR) AND ITS 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI), ON AN INTENTION-TO-TREAT BASIS. FOR CONTINUOUS DATA, WE ESTIMATED THE MEAN DIFFERENCE (MD) BETWEEN GROUPS AND ITS 95% CI. WE EMPLOYED A FIXED-EFFECT MODELS FOR ANALYSES. WE EXAMINED DATA FOR HETEROGENEITY (I(2) TECHNIQUE), ASSESSED RISK OF BIAS FOR INCLUDED STUDIES, AND CREATED A 'SUMMARY OF FINDINGS' TABLE FOR SEVEN MAIN OUTCOMES OF INTEREST USING GRADE (GRADING OF RECOMMENDATIONS ASSESSMENT, DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION). MAIN RESULTS: WE WERE ABLE TO INCLUDE SIX STUDIES (586 PARTICIPANTS). NON-STANDARD CARE CONSISTED SOLELY OF ANOTHER TYPE OF EXERCISE PROGRAMME. ALL OUTCOMES WERE SHORT TERM (LESS THAN SIX MONTHS). THERE WAS A CLEAR DIFFERENCE IN THE OUTCOME LEAVING THE STUDY EARLY (6 RCTS, N=586, RR 0.64 CI 0.49 TO 0.83, MEDIUM QUALITY EVIDENCE) IN FAVOUR OF THE YOGA GROUP. THERE WERE NO CLEAR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS FOR THE REMAINING OUTCOMES. THESE INCLUDED MENTAL STATE (IMPROVEMENT IN POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SYNDROME SCALE, 1 RCT, N=84, RR 0.81 CI 0.62 TO 1.07, LOW QUALITY EVIDENCE), SOCIAL FUNCTIONING (IMPROVEMENT IN SOCIAL OCCUPATIONAL FUNCTIONING SCALE, 1 RCT, N=84, RR 0.90 CI 0.78 TO 1.04, LOW QUALITY EVIDENCE), QUALITY OF LIFE (MENTAL HEALTH) (AVERAGE CHANGE 36-ITEM SHORT FORM SURVEY (SF-36) QUALITY-OF-LIFE SUB-SCALE, 1 RCT, N=69, MD -5.30 CI -17.78 TO 7.18, LOW QUALITY EVIDENCE), PHYSICAL HEALTH, (AVERAGE CHANGE WHOQOL-BREF PHYSICAL-HEALTH SUB-SCALE, 1 RCT, N=69, MD 9.22 CI -0.42 TO 18.86, LOW QUALITY EVIDENCE). ONLY ONE STUDY REPORTED ADVERSE EFFECTS, FINDING NO INCIDENCE OF ADVERSE EVENTS IN EITHER TREATMENT GROUP. THERE WERE A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF MISSING OUTCOMES, WHICH INCLUDED RELAPSE, CHANGE IN COGNITION, COSTS OF CARE, EFFECT ON STANDARD CARE, SERVICE INTERVENTION, DISABILITY, AND ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: WE FOUND MINIMAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOGA AND NON-STANDARD CARE, THE LATTER CONSISTING OF ANOTHER EXERCISE COMPARATOR, WHICH COULD BE BROADLY CONSIDERED AEROBIC EXERCISE. OUTCOMES WERE LARGELY BASED ON SINGLE STUDIES WITH LIMITED SAMPLE SIZES AND SHORT-TERM FOLLOW-UP. OVERALL, MANY OUTCOMES WERE NOT REPORTED AND EVIDENCE PRESENTED IN THIS REVIEW IS OF LOW TO MODERATE QUALITY - TOO WEAK TO INDICATE THAT YOGA IS SUPERIOR OR INFERIOR TO NON-STANDARD CARE CONTROL FOR MANAGEMENT OF PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA. 2017 10 2829 37 YOGA VERSUS STANDARD CARE FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS AN ANCIENT SPIRITUAL PRACTICE THAT ORIGINATED IN INDIA AND IS CURRENTLY ACCEPTED IN THE WESTERN WORLD AS A FORM OF RELAXATION AND EXERCISE. IT HAS BEEN OF INTEREST FOR PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA TO DETERMINE ITS EFFICACY AS AN ADJUNCT TO STANDARD-CARE TREATMENT. OBJECTIVES: TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA VERSUS STANDARD CARE FOR PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA. SEARCH METHODS: WE SEARCHED THE COCHRANE SCHIZOPHRENIA GROUP TRIALS REGISTER (NOVEMBER 2012 AND JANUARY 29, 2015), WHICH IS BASED ON REGULAR SEARCHES OF MEDLINE, PUBMED, EMBASE, CINAHL, BIOSIS, AMED, PSYCINFO, AND REGISTRIES OF CLINICAL TRIALS. WE SEARCHED THE REFERENCES OF ALL INCLUDED STUDIES. THERE WERE NO LANGUAGE, DATE, DOCUMENT TYPE, OR PUBLICATION STATUS LIMITATIONS FOR INCLUSION OF RECORDS IN THE REGISTER. SELECTION CRITERIA: ALL RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) INCLUDING PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA COMPARING YOGA TO STANDARD-CARE CONTROL. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: THE REVIEW TEAM INDEPENDENTLY SELECTED STUDIES, QUALITY RATED THESE, AND EXTRACTED DATA. FOR BINARY OUTCOMES, WE CALCULATED RISK RATIO (RR) AND ITS 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI), ON AN INTENTION-TO-TREAT BASIS. FOR CONTINUOUS DATA, WE ESTIMATED THE MEAN DIFFERENCE (MD) BETWEEN GROUPS AND ITS 95% CI. WE EMPLOYED MIXED-EFFECT AND FIXED-EFFECT MODELS FOR ANALYSES. WE EXAMINED DATA FOR HETEROGENEITY (I(2) TECHNIQUE), ASSESSED RISK OF BIAS FOR INCLUDED STUDIES, AND CREATED 'SUMMARY OF FINDINGS' TABLES USING GRADE (GRADING OF RECOMMENDATIONS ASSESSMENT, DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION). MAIN RESULTS: WE INCLUDED EIGHT STUDIES IN THE REVIEW. ALL OUTCOMES WERE SHORT TERM (LESS THAN SIX MONTHS). THERE WERE CLEAR DIFFERENCES IN A NUMBER OF OUTCOMES IN FAVOUR OF THE YOGA GROUP, ALTHOUGH THESE WERE BASED ON ONE STUDY EACH, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF LEAVING THE STUDY EARLY. THESE INCLUDED MENTAL STATE (IMPROVEMENT IN POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SYNDROME SCALE, 1 RCT, N = 83, RR 0.70 CI 0.55 TO 0.88, MEDIUM-QUALITY EVIDENCE), SOCIAL FUNCTIONING (IMPROVEMENT IN SOCIAL OCCUPATIONAL FUNCTIONING SCALE, 1 RCT, N = 83, RR 0.88 CI 0.77 TO 1, MEDIUM-QUALITY EVIDENCE), QUALITY OF LIFE (AVERAGE CHANGE 36-ITEM SHORT FORM SURVEY (SF-36) QUALITY-OF-LIFE SUBSCALE, 1 RCT, N = 60, MD 15.50, 95% CI 4.27 TO 26.73, LOW-QUALITY EVIDENCE), AND LEAVING THE STUDY EARLY (8 RCTS, N = 457, RR 0.91 CI 0.6 TO 1.37, MEDIUM-QUALITY EVIDENCE). FOR THE OUTCOME OF PHYSICAL HEALTH, THERE WAS NOT A CLEAR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS (AVERAGE CHANGE SF-36 PHYSICAL-HEALTH SUBSCALE, 1 RCT, N = 60, MD 6.60, 95% CI -2.44 TO 15.64, LOW-QUALITY EVIDENCE). ONLY ONE STUDY REPORTED ADVERSE EFFECTS, FINDING NO INCIDENCE OF ADVERSE EVENTS IN EITHER TREATMENT GROUP. THIS REVIEW WAS SUBJECT TO A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF MISSING OUTCOMES, WHICH INCLUDED GLOBAL STATE, CHANGE IN COGNITION, COSTS OF CARE, EFFECT ON STANDARD CARE, SERVICE INTERVENTION, DISABILITY, AND ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: EVEN THOUGH WE FOUND SOME POSITIVE EVIDENCE IN FAVOUR OF YOGA OVER STANDARD-CARE CONTROL, THIS SHOULD BE INTERPRETED CAUTIOUSLY IN VIEW OF OUTCOMES LARGELY BASED EACH ON ONE STUDY WITH LIMITED SAMPLE SIZES AND SHORT-TERM FOLLOW-UP. OVERALL, MANY OUTCOMES WERE NOT REPORTED AND EVIDENCE PRESENTED IN THIS REVIEW IS OF LOW TO MODERATE QUALITY - -TOO WEAK TO INDICATE THAT YOGA IS SUPERIOR TO STANDARD-CARE CONTROL FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF SCHIZOPHRENIA. 2015 11 2587 48 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 12 2629 31 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 13 2497 33 YOGA AS PART OF A PACKAGE OF CARE VERSUS STANDARD CARE FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS AN ANCIENT SPIRITUAL PRACTICE THAT ORIGINATED IN INDIA AND IS CURRENTLY ACCEPTED IN THE WESTERN WORLD AS A FORM OF RELAXATION AND EXERCISE. IT HAS BEEN OF INTEREST FOR PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA TO DETERMINE THE EFFICACY OF YOGA DELIVERED AS A PACKAGE OF CARE VERSUS STANDARD CARE. OBJECTIVES: TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA AS A PACKAGE OF CARE VERSUS STANDARD CARE. SEARCH METHODS: WE SEARCHED THE COCHRANE SCHIZOPHRENIA GROUP TRIALS REGISTER (LATEST 30 MARCH 2017) WHICH IS BASED ON REGULAR SEARCHES OF MEDLINE, PUBMED, EMBASE, CINAHL, BIOSS, AMED, PSYCHINFO, AND REGISTRIES OF CLINICAL TRIALS. WE SEARCHED THE REFERENCES OF ALL INCLUDED STUDIES. THERE ARE NO LANGUAGE, DATE, DOCUMENT TYPE, OR PUBLICATION STATUS LIMITATIONS FOR INCLUSION OF RECORDS IN THE REGISTER. SELECTION CRITERIA: ALL RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) INCLUDING PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA COMPARING YOGA AS A PACKAGE OF CARE WITH STANDARD-CARE CONTROL. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: THE REVIEW AUTHORS INDEPENDENTLY SELECTED STUDIES, QUALITY RATED THESE, AND EXTRACTED DATA. FOR BINARY OUTCOMES, WE CALCULATED RISK DIFFERENCE (RD) AND ITS 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI), ON AN INTENTION-TO-TREAT (ITT) BASIS. FOR CONTINUOUS DATA, WE ESTIMATED THE MEAN DIFFERENCE (MD) BETWEEN GROUPS AND ITS CI. WE EMPLOYED MIXED-EFFECT AND FIXED-EFFECT MODELS FOR ANALYSIS. WE EXAMINED HETEROGENEITY (I(2) TECHNIQUE), ASSESSED RISK OF BIAS FOR INCLUDED STUDIES, AND CREATED A 'SUMMARY OF FINDINGS' TABLE USING GRADE (GRADING OF RECOMMENDATIONS ASSESSMENT, DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION). MAIN RESULTS: THREE STUDIES ARE INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW. ALL OUTCOMES WERE SHORT TERM (LESS THAN EIGHT WEEKS). USEABLE DATA WERE REPORTED FOR TWO OUTCOMES ONLY; LEAVING THE STUDY EARLY AND QUALITY OF LIFE. NONE OF THE PARTICIPANTS LEFT THE STUDIES EARLY AND THERE WAS SOME EVIDENCE IN FAVOUR OF THE YOGA PACKAGE FOR QUALITY OF LIFE ENDPOINT SCORES (1 RCT, N=80, MD 22.93 CI 19.74 TO 26.12, LOW-QUALITY EVIDENCE). LEAVING THE STUDY EARLY DATA WERE EQUIVOCAL BETWEEN THE TREATMENT GROUPS (3 RCTS, N=193, RD 0.06 CI -0.01 TO 0.13, MEDIUM-QUALITY EVIDENCE, HIGH HETEROGENEITY). OVERALL, THIS REVIEW HAS AN INORDINATE NUMBER OF MISSING KEY OUTCOMES, WHICH INCLUDED MENTAL AND GLOBAL STATE, SOCIAL FUNCTIONING, PHYSICAL HEALTH, ADVERSE EFFECTS AND COSTS OF CARE. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: A SMALL NUMBER OF SMALL STUDIES WERE INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW AND THESE LACKED MANY KEY OUTCOMES. THE SPARSE DATA MEANS WE CANNOT STATE WITH ANY DEGREE OF CERTAINTY IF YOGA DELIVERED AS A PACKAGE OF CARE IS BENEFICIAL IN COMPARISON TO STANDARD CARE. 2017 14 2831 35 YOGA VS. PHYSICAL THERAPY VS. EDUCATION FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN IN PREDOMINANTLY MINORITY POPULATIONS: STUDY PROTOCOL FOR A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN CAUSES SUBSTANTIAL MORBIDITY AND COST TO SOCIETY WHILE DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTING LOW-INCOME AND MINORITY ADULTS. SEVERAL RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS SHOW YOGA IS AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT. HOWEVER, THE COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA AND PHYSICAL THERAPY, A COMMON MAINSTREAM TREATMENT FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN, IS UNKNOWN. METHODS/DESIGN: THIS IS A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL FOR 320 PREDOMINANTLY LOW-INCOME MINORITY ADULTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN, COMPARING YOGA, PHYSICAL THERAPY, AND EDUCATION. INCLUSION CRITERIA ARE ADULTS 18-64 YEARS OLD WITH NON-SPECIFIC LOW BACK PAIN LASTING >/= 12 WEEKS AND A SELF-REPORTED AVERAGE PAIN INTENSITY OF >/= 4 ON A 0-10 SCALE. RECRUITMENT TAKES PLACE AT BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER, AN URBAN ACADEMIC SAFETY-NET HOSPITAL AND SEVEN FEDERALLY QUALIFIED COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS LOCATED IN DIVERSE NEIGHBORHOODS. THE 52-WEEK STUDY HAS AN INITIAL 12-WEEK TREATMENT PHASE WHERE PARTICIPANTS ARE RANDOMIZED IN A 2:2:1 RATIO INTO I) A STANDARDIZED WEEKLY HATHA YOGA CLASS SUPPLEMENTED BY HOME PRACTICE; II) A STANDARDIZED EVIDENCE-BASED EXERCISE THERAPY PROTOCOL ADAPTED FROM THE TREATMENT BASED CLASSIFICATION METHOD, INDIVIDUALLY DELIVERED BY A PHYSICAL THERAPIST AND SUPPLEMENTED BY HOME PRACTICE; AND III) EDUCATION DELIVERED THROUGH A SELF-CARE BOOK. CO-PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES ARE 12-WEEK PAIN INTENSITY MEASURED ON AN 11-POINT NUMERICAL RATING SCALE AND BACK-SPECIFIC FUNCTION MEASURED USING THE MODIFIED ROLAND MORRIS DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE. IN THE SUBSEQUENT 40-WEEK MAINTENANCE PHASE, YOGA PARTICIPANTS ARE RE-RANDOMIZED IN A 1:1 RATIO TO EITHER STRUCTURED MAINTENANCE YOGA CLASSES OR HOME PRACTICE ONLY. PHYSICAL THERAPY PARTICIPANTS ARE SIMILARLY RE-RANDOMIZED TO EITHER FIVE BOOSTER SESSIONS OR HOME PRACTICE ONLY. EDUCATION PARTICIPANTS CONTINUE TO FOLLOW RECOMMENDATIONS OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS. WE WILL ALSO ASSESS COST EFFECTIVENESS FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF THE INDIVIDUAL, INSURERS, AND SOCIETY USING CLAIMS DATABASES, ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS, SELF-REPORT COST DATA, AND STUDY RECORDS. QUALITATIVE DATA FROM INTERVIEWS WILL ADD SUBJECTIVE DETAIL TO COMPLEMENT QUANTITATIVE DATA. TRIAL REGISTRATION: THIS TRIAL IS REGISTERED IN CLINICALTRIALS.GOV, WITH THE ID NUMBER: NCT01343927. 2014 15 28 43 'JOINING A GROUP WAS INSPIRING': A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF SERVICE USERS' EXPERIENCES OF YOGA ON SOCIAL PRESCRIPTION. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS BECOMING AN INCREASINGLY POPULAR HOLISTIC APPROACH IN THE WEST TO MANAGE LONG-TERM HEALTH CONDITIONS. THIS STUDY PRESENTS THE EVALUATION OF A PILOT YOGA INTERVENTION, YOGA4HEALTH, THAT WAS DEVELOPED FOR THE NHS TO BE SOCIALLY PRESCRIBED TO PATIENTS AT RISK OF DEVELOPING SPECIFIC HEALTH CONDITIONS (RISK FACTORS FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, PRE-DIABETES, ANXIETY/DEPRESSION OR EXPERIENCING SOCIAL ISOLATION). THE AIM OF THIS QUALITATIVE STUDY WAS TO EXPLORE SERVICE USERS' EXPERIENCES OF YOGA4HEALTH AND THE ACCEPTABILITY OF THE PROGRAMME. METHODS: QUALITATIVE DATA WERE COLLECTED FROM THREE SOURCES: 1. OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS ON QUESTIONNAIRES COMPLETED BY SERVICES USERS AT THREE DIFFERENT TIME-POINTS (BASELINE, POST INTERVENTION AND 3 MONTHS); 2. INTERVIEWS AND FOCUS GROUPS WITH A SUBSET OF PARTICIPANTS (N = 22); 3. INTERVIEWS WITH YOGA TEACHERS DELIVERING YOGA4HEALTH (N = 7). EACH DATA SOURCE WAS ANALYSED THEMATICALLY, THEN FINDINGS WERE COMBINED. RESULTS: OF PARTICIPANTS COMPLETING BASELINE QUESTIONNAIRES (N = 240), 82.5% WERE FEMALE, 50% WHITE, WITH A MEAN AGE OF 53 (RANGE 23-82) YEARS. BASELINE QUESTIONNAIRES REVEALED KEY MOTIVATIONS TO ATTEND YOGA4HEALTH WERE TO IMPROVE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH, AND BELIEVING YOGA4HEALTH WOULD BE ACCESSIBLE FOR PEOPLE WITH THEIR HEALTH CONDITION. POST-INTERVENTION, PARTICIPANTS REPORTED A RANGE OF BENEFITS ACROSS PSYCHOLOGICAL, PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL DOMAINS FROM YOGA4HEALTH. INCREASED CONFIDENCE IN SELF-MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH WAS ALSO REPORTED, AND A NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS DESCRIBED MAKING POSITIVE LIFESTYLE CHANGES AFTER ATTENDING THE PROGRAMME. UNANTICIPATED BENEFITS OF YOGA EMERGED FOR PARTICIPANTS, SUCH AS ENJOYMENT AND SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS, WHICH FACILITATED ONGOING ATTENDANCE AND PRACTICE. ALSO KEY TO FACILITATING PRACTICE (DURING AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION) WERE SUITABILITY OF THE CLASSES FOR THOSE WITH HEALTH CONDITIONS, PRACTISING WITH A GROUP AND QUALITIES OF THE YOGA TEACHER. HOME PRACTICE WAS SUPPORTED BY COURSE MATERIALS (MANUAL, VIDEOS), AS WELL AS THE TEACHING OF TECHNIQUES FOR EVERYDAY APPLICATION THAT OFFERED IMMEDIATE BENEFITS, SUCH AS BREATHING PRACTICES. FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONNAIRES REVEALED A KEY CHALLENGE WAS CONTINUATION OF PRACTICE ONCE THE INTERVENTION HAD FINISHED, WITH THE STRUCTURE OF A CLASS IMPORTANT IN SUPPORTING PRACTICE. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA4HEALTH WAS A HIGHLY ACCEPTABLE INTERVENTION TO SERVICES USERS, WHICH BROUGHT A RANGE OF BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL IMPROVEMENTS, SUGGESTING YOGA IS AN APPROPRIATE INTERVENTION TO OFFER ON SOCIAL PRESCRIPTION. 2022 16 2616 32 YOGA FOR SECONDARY PREVENTION OF CORONARY HEART DISEASE. BACKGROUND: CORONARY HEART DISEASE (CHD) IS THE MAJOR CAUSE OF EARLY MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY IN MOST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES. SECONDARY PREVENTION AIMS TO PREVENT REPEAT CARDIAC EVENTS AND DEATH IN PEOPLE WITH ESTABLISHED CHD. LIFESTYLE MODIFICATIONS PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN SECONDARY PREVENTION. YOGA HAS BEEN REGARDED AS A TYPE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AS WELL AS A STRESS MANAGEMENT STRATEGY. GROWING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA ON VARIOUS AILMENTS. OBJECTIVES: TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA FOR THE SECONDARY PREVENTION OF MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY IN, AND ON THE HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE OF, INDIVIDUALS WITH CHD. SEARCH METHODS: THIS IS AN UPDATE OF A REVIEW PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED IN 2012. FOR THIS UPDATED REVIEW, WE SEARCHED THE COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS (CENTRAL) IN THE COCHRANE LIBRARY (ISSUE 1 OF 12, 2014), MEDLINE (1948 TO FEBRUARY WEEK 1 2014), EMBASE (1980 TO 2014 WEEK 6), WEB OF SCIENCE (THOMSON REUTERS, 1970 TO 12 FEBRUARY 2014), CHINA JOURNAL NET (1994 TO MAY 2014), WANFANG DATA (1990 TO MAY 2014), AND INDEX TO CHINESE PERIODICALS OF HONG KONG (HKINCHIP) (FROM 1980). ONGOING STUDIES WERE IDENTIFIED IN THE METAREGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS (MAY 2014) AND THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION INTERNATIONAL CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY PLATFORM (MAY 2014). WE APPLIED NO LANGUAGE RESTRICTIONS. SELECTION CRITERIA: WE PLANNED TO INCLUDE RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) INVESTIGATING THE INFLUENCE OF YOGA PRACTICE ON CHD OUTCOMES IN MEN AND WOMEN (AGED 18 YEARS AND OVER) WITH A DIAGNOSIS OF ACUTE OR CHRONIC CHD. STUDIES WERE ELIGIBLE FOR INCLUSION IF THEY HAD A FOLLOW-UP DURATION OF SIX MONTHS OR MORE. WE CONSIDERED STUDIES THAT COMPARED ONE GROUP PRACTICING A TYPE OF YOGA WITH A CONTROL GROUP RECEIVING EITHER NO INTERVENTION OR INTERVENTIONS OTHER THAN YOGA. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: TWO AUTHORS INDEPENDENTLY SELECTED STUDIES ACCORDING TO PRESPECIFIED INCLUSION CRITERIA. WE RESOLVED DISAGREEMENTS EITHER BY CONSENSUS OR BY DISCUSSION WITH A THIRD AUTHOR. MAIN RESULTS: WE FOUND NO ELIGIBLE RCTS THAT MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA OF THE REVIEW AND THUS WE WERE UNABLE TO PERFORM A META-ANALYSIS. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA FOR SECONDARY PREVENTION IN CHD REMAINS UNCERTAIN. LARGE RCTS OF HIGH QUALITY ARE NEEDED. 2015 17 2496 26 YOGA AS PART OF A PACKAGE OF CARE VERSUS NON-STANDARD CARE FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS AN ANCIENT BODY-MIND PRACTICE WHICH ORIGINATED IN INDIA AND IS POPULAR IN THE WESTERN WORLD AS A FORM OF RELAXATION AND EXERCISE. IT HAS BEEN OF INTEREST FOR PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA TO DETERMINE THE EFFICACY OF YOGA DELIVERED AS A PACKAGE OF CARE VERSUS NON-STANDARD CARE. OBJECTIVES: TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA AS PART OF A PACKAGE OF CARE VERSUS NON-STANDARD CARE FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA. SEARCH METHODS: WE SEARCHED THE COCHRANE SCHIZOPHRENIA GROUP TRIALS REGISTER (LATEST 15 MAY 2018) WHICH IS BASED ON REGULAR SEARCHES OF MEDLINE, PUBMED, EMBASE, CINAHL, BIOSS, AMED, PSYCHINFO, AND REGISTRIES OF CLINICAL TRIALS. WE SEARCHED THE REFERENCES OF ALL INCLUDED STUDIES. THERE ARE NO LANGUAGE, DATE, DOCUMENT TYPE, OR PUBLICATION STATUS LIMITATIONS FOR INCLUSION OF RECORDS IN THE REGISTER. SELECTION CRITERIA: ALL RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) INCLUDING PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA COMPARING YOGA AS PART OF A PACKAGE OF CARE WITH NON-STANDARD CARE. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: THERE WERE NO DATA TO ANALYSE AS NO STUDIES MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA. MAIN RESULTS: THE SEARCHES IDENTIFIED 30 STUDIES THAT COULD BE RELEVANT TO THIS REVIEW. AFTER CAREFUL INSPECTION, 29 WERE EXCLUDED AND ONE IS AWAITING CLASSIFICATION. NO DATA WERE AVAILABLE FOR ANALYSES. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: IN VIEW OF THE LACK OF EVIDENCE FROM RCTS, IT IS CURRENTLY NOT POSSIBLE FOR US TO COMMENT ON THE USE OF YOGA AS PART OF A PACKAGE OF CARE VERSUS NON-STANDARD CARE. 2019 18 2121 29 THE EFFECTIVENESS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF PREGNANCY YOGA INTERVENTIONS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW PROTOCOL. BACKGROUND: THE PURPOSE OF THIS REVIEW IS TO SYSTEMATICALLY EXAMINE THE REPORTED CLINICAL EFFECTIVENESS OF PREGNANCY YOGA. THE REVIEW WILL USE THE FITT (FREQUENCY, INTENSITY, TIME/DURATION AND TYPE) PRINCIPLE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TO CHARACTERISE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF YOGA INTERVENTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN EVALUATED IN THE INCLUDED STUDIES. STUDIES WILL BE CATEGORISED AS EFFECTIVENESS OR EFFICACY STUDIES AND THIS CONTINUUM OF EFFICACY VERSUS EFFECTIVENESS WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO THE FULL REVIEW. METHODS/DESIGN: THE FOLLOWING ELECTRONIC DATABASES WILL BE SEARCHED USING A DETAILED SEARCH STRATEGY: MEDLINE, PSYCINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL, WHOLIS, AMED, SCIELO, ASSIA AND WEB OF SCIENCE. RANDOMISED CONTROL TRIALS AND QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES EXAMINING PREGNANCY YOGA AND REPORTING ON EFFECT WILL BE INCLUDED. TITLES, ABSTRACTS AND FULL ARTICLES WILL BE SCREENED BY TWO INVESTIGATORS INDEPENDENTLY TO IDENTIFY ELIGIBLE STUDIES. THE COCHRANE COLLABORATION'S RISK OF BIAS ASSESSMENT TOOL WILL BE USED TO ASSESS STUDY QUALITY. QUALITY OF THE EVIDENCE WILL BE EVALUATED USING THE GRADE CRITERIA. A STANDARDISED DATA EXTRACTION FORM WILL BE USED TO EXTRACT DATA. EFFECT SIZES WILL BE ESTIMATED USING MEAN DIFFERENCES FOR CONTINUOUS OUTCOMES, AND RELATIVE RISKS FOR DICHOTOMOUS OUTCOME. WHERE POSSIBLE, POOLING OF EFFECT ESTIMATES WILL BE DONE USING A RANDOM EFFECT MODEL. THE OUTCOMES OF INTEREST ARE QUALITY OF LIFE, STRESS, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, MODE OF BIRTH, LABOUR DURATION AND PAIN MANAGEMENT IN LABOUR. DISCUSSION: THIS REVIEW WILL SYNTHESISE THE BEST AVAILABLE EVIDENCE ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA DURING PREGNANCY AND PROVIDE VALUABLE HIGH-QUALITY INFORMATION FOR CLINICIANS AND HEALTH POLICYMAKERS. FINDINGS WILL BE DISSEMINATED THROUGH PUBLICATION IN A PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL AND PRESENTATION AT RELEVANT CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS. THE REVIEW WILL MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE APPROPRIATE VOLUME, INTENSITY AND TYPE OF PREGNANCY YOGA FOR MAXIMUM EFFECT AND MAY HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY AND PRACTICE RELATING TO PREGNANCY YOGA AS AN INTERVENTION. REGISTRATION: PROSPERO, CRD42019119916. REGISTERED ON 11TH JANUARY 2019. 2019 19 2638 31 YOGA FOR VETERANS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN: DESIGN AND METHODS OF A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL. CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN (CLBP) AFFLICTS MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE, WITH PARTICULARLY HIGH PREVALENCE IN MILITARY VETERANS. MANY TREATMENT OPTIONS EXIST FOR CLBP, BUT MOST HAVE LIMITED EFFECTIVENESS AND SOME HAVE SIGNIFICANT SIDE EFFECTS. IN GENERAL POPULATIONS WITH CLBP, YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE HEALTH OUTCOMES WITH FEW SIDE EFFECTS. HOWEVER, YOGA HAS NOT BEEN ADEQUATELY STUDIED IN MILITARY VETERAN POPULATIONS. IN THE CURRENT PAPER WE WILL DESCRIBE THE DESIGN AND METHODS OF A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL AIMED AT EXAMINING WHETHER YOGA CAN EFFECTIVELY REDUCE DISABILITY AND PAIN IN US MILITARY VETERANS WITH CLBP. A TOTAL OF 144 US MILITARY VETERANS WITH CLBP WILL BE RANDOMIZED TO EITHER YOGA OR A DELAYED TREATMENT COMPARISON GROUP. THE YOGA INTERVENTION WILL CONSIST OF 2X WEEKLY YOGA CLASSES FOR 12WEEKS, COMPLEMENTED BY REGULAR HOME PRACTICE GUIDED BY A MANUAL. THE DELAYED TREATMENT GROUP WILL RECEIVE THE SAME INTERVENTION AFTER SIX MONTHS. THE PRIMARY OUTCOME IS THE CHANGE IN BACK PAIN-RELATED DISABILITY MEASURED WITH THE ROLAND-MORRIS DISABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE AT BASELINE AND 12-WEEKS. SECONDARY OUTCOMES INCLUDE PAIN INTENSITY, PAIN INTERFERENCE, DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, FATIGUE/ENERGY, QUALITY OF LIFE, SELF-EFFICACY, SLEEP QUALITY, AND MEDICATION USAGE. ADDITIONAL PROCESS AND/OR MEDIATIONAL FACTORS WILL BE MEASURED TO EXAMINE DOSE RESPONSE AND EFFECT MECHANISMS. ASSESSMENTS WILL BE CONDUCTED AT BASELINE, 6-WEEKS, 12-WEEKS, AND 6-MONTHS. ALL RANDOMIZED PARTICIPANTS WILL BE INCLUDED IN INTENTION-TO-TREAT ANALYSES. STUDY RESULTS WILL PROVIDE MUCH NEEDED EVIDENCE ON THE FEASIBILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA AS A THERAPEUTIC MODALITY FOR THE TREATMENT OF CLBP IN US MILITARY VETERANS. 2016 20 536 41 COMPARISON OF YOGA VERSUS STRETCHING FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN: PROTOCOL FOR THE YOGA EXERCISE SELF-CARE (YES) TRIAL. BACKGROUND: BACK PAIN, ONE OF THE MOST PREVALENT CONDITIONS AFFLICTING AMERICAN ADULTS, IS THE LEADING REASON FOR USING COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE (CAM) THERAPIES. YOGA IS AN INCREASINGLY POPULAR "MIND-BODY" CAM THERAPY OFTEN USED FOR RELIEVING BACK PAIN AND SEVERAL SMALL STUDIES HAVE FOUND YOGA EFFECTIVE FOR THIS CONDITION. THIS STUDY WILL ASSESS WHETHER YOGA IS EFFECTIVE FOR TREATING CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN COMPARED WITH SELF CARE AND EXERCISE AND WILL EXPLORE THE MECHANISMS RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY OBSERVED BENEFITS. METHODS/DESIGN: A TOTAL OF 210 PARTICIPANTS WITH LOW BACK PAIN LASTING AT LEAST 3 MONTHS WILL BE RECRUITED FROM PRIMARY CARE CLINICS OF A LARGE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM BASED IN SEATTLE. THEY WILL BE RANDOMIZED IN A 2:2:1 RATIO TO RECEIVE 12 WEEKLY YOGA CLASSES, 12 WEEKLY CONVENTIONAL THERAPEUTIC EXERCISE CLASSES OF COMPARABLE PHYSICAL EXERTION, OR A SELF-CARE BOOK. INTERVIEWERS MASKED TO PARTICIPANTS' TREATMENT GROUP WILL ASSESS OUTCOMES AT BASELINE AND 6, 12 AND 26 WEEKS AFTER RANDOMIZATION. PRIMARY OUTCOMES WILL BE BACK-RELATED DYSFUNCTION AND SYMPTOM BOTHERSOMENESS. IN ADDITION, DATA WILL BE COLLECTED ON PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS (E.G., FLEXION) AT BASELINE AND 12 WEEKS AND SALIVA SAMPLES WILL BE OBTAINED AT BASELINE, 6 AND 12 WEEKS. INFORMATION WILL BE COLLECTED ON SPECIFIC PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTORS TO ALLOW EXPLORATION OF POSSIBLE MECHANISMS OF ACTION THROUGH WHICH YOGA COULD RELIEVE BACK PAIN AND DYSFUNCTION. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA WILL BE ASSESSED USING ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE (USING GENERAL ESTIMATING EQUATIONS - GEE) WITHIN AN INTENTION-TO-TREAT CONTEXT. IF YOGA IS FOUND EFFECTIVE, FURTHER ANALYSES WILL EXPLORE WHETHER YOGA'S BENEFITS ARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND/OR PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTORS. CONCLUSIONS: THIS STUDY WILL PROVIDE THE CLEAREST EVIDENCE TO DATE ABOUT THE VALUE OF YOGA AS A THERAPEUTIC OPTION FOR TREATING CHRONIC BACK PAIN, AND IF THE RESULTS ARE POSITIVE, WILL HELP FOCUS FUTURE, MORE IN-DEPTH, RESEARCH ON THE MOST PROMISING POTENTIAL MECHANISMS OF ACTION IDENTIFIED BY THIS STUDY. 2010