1 2318 174 TREATING MAJOR DEPRESSION WITH YOGA: A PROSPECTIVE, RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED PILOT TRIAL. BACKGROUND: CONVENTIONAL PHARMACOTHERAPIES AND PSYCHOTHERAPIES FOR MAJOR DEPRESSION ARE ASSOCIATED WITH LIMITED ADHERENCE TO CARE AND RELATIVELY LOW REMISSION RATES. YOGA MAY OFFER AN ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT OPTION, BUT RIGOROUS STUDIES ARE FEW. THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL WITH BLINDED OUTCOME ASSESSORS EXAMINED AN 8-WEEK HATHA YOGA INTERVENTION AS MONO-THERAPY FOR MILD-TO-MODERATE MAJOR DEPRESSION. METHODS: INVESTIGATORS RECRUITED 38 ADULTS IN SAN FRANCISCO MEETING CRITERIA FOR MAJOR DEPRESSION OF MILD-TO-MODERATE SEVERITY, PER STRUCTURED PSYCHIATRIC INTERVIEW AND SCORES OF 14-28 ON BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY-II (BDI). AT SCREENING, INDIVIDUALS ENGAGED IN PSYCHOTHERAPY, ANTIDEPRESSANT PHARMACOTHERAPY, HERBAL OR NUTRACEUTICAL MOOD THERAPIES, OR MIND-BODY PRACTICES WERE EXCLUDED. PARTICIPANTS WERE 68% FEMALE, WITH MEAN AGE 43.4 YEARS (SD = 14.8, RANGE = 22-72), AND MEAN BDI SCORE 22.4 (SD = 4.5). TWENTY PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMIZED TO 90-MINUTE HATHA YOGA PRACTICE GROUPS TWICE WEEKLY FOR 8 WEEKS. EIGHTEEN PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMIZED TO 90-MINUTE ATTENTION CONTROL EDUCATION GROUPS TWICE WEEKLY FOR 8 WEEKS. CERTIFIED YOGA INSTRUCTORS DELIVERED BOTH INTERVENTIONS AT A UNIVERSITY CLINIC. PRIMARY OUTCOME WAS DEPRESSION SEVERITY, MEASURED BY BDI SCORES EVERY 2 WEEKS FROM BASELINE TO 8 WEEKS. SECONDARY OUTCOMES WERE SELF-EFFICACY AND SELF-ESTEEM, MEASURED BY SCORES ON THE GENERAL SELF-EFFICACY SCALE (GSES) AND ROSENBERG SELF-ESTEEM SCALE (RSES) AT BASELINE AND AT 8 WEEKS. RESULTS: IN INTENT-TO-TREAT ANALYSIS, YOGA PARTICIPANTS EXHIBITED SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER 8-WEEK DECLINE IN BDI SCORES THAN CONTROLS (P-VALUE = 0.034). IN SUB-ANALYSES OF PARTICIPANTS COMPLETING FINAL 8-WEEK MEASURES, YOGA PARTICIPANTS WERE MORE LIKELY TO ACHIEVE REMISSION, DEFINED PER FINAL BDI SCORE /=14, AND WERE EITHER ON NO ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATIONS OR ON A STABLE DOSE OF ANTIDEPRESSANTS FOR >/=3 MONTHS. THE INTERVENTION INCLUDED 90-MIN CLASSES PLUS HOMEWORK. OUTCOME MEASURES WERE BDI-II SCORES AND INTERVENTION COMPLIANCE. RESULTS: FIFTEEN HDG (MAGE = 38.4 +/- 15.1 YEARS) AND 15 LDG (MAGE = 34.7 +/- 10.4 YEARS) SUBJECTS COMPLETED THE INTERVENTION. BDI-II SCORES AT SCREENING AND COMPLIANCE DID NOT DIFFER BETWEEN GROUPS (P = 0.26). BDI-II SCORES DECLINED SIGNIFICANTLY FROM SCREENING (24.6 +/- 1.7) TO WEEK 12 (6.0 +/- 3.8) FOR THE HDG (-18.6 +/- 6.6; P < 0.001), AND FROM SCREENING (27.7 +/- 2.1) TO WEEK 12 (10.1 +/- 7.9) IN THE LDG (-17.7 +/- 9.3; P < 0.001). THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS, BASED ON RESPONSE (I.E., >50% DECREASE IN BDI-II SCORES; P = 0.65) FOR THE HDG (13/15 SUBJECTS) AND LDG (11/15 SUBJECTS) OR REMISSION (I.E., NUMBER OF SUBJECTS WITH BDI-II SCORES <14; P = 1.00) FOR THE HDG (14/15 SUBJECTS) AND LDG (13/15 SUBJECTS) AFTER THE 12-WEEK INTERVENTION, ALTHOUGH A GREATER NUMBER OF SUBJECTS IN THE HDG HAD 12-WEEK BDI-II SCORES 8 MM WERE RECORDED. BLOOD SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED AND SERUM CORTISOL LEVELS WERE MEASURED. RESULTS: MEAN AGE, PLAQUE SCORES, AND NUMBER OF TEETH WITH PPD AND CAL AT 5-8 MM AND >8 MM WERE SIMILAR IN ALL THE GROUPS, EXCEPT BETWEEN GROUP I AND GROUP III WHERE A MULTIPLE COMPARISON WITH TUKEY'S POST-HOC TEST SHOWED SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN PLAQUE INDEX (P < 0.038) AND THE NUMBER OF TEETH WITH CAL 5-8 MM (P < 0.016). SERUM CORTISOL LEVELS AND HAM-A SCALE AND ZSDS SCORES SHOWED HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT VALUE (P < 0.001) IN GROUP I SUBJECTS WHEN COMPARED WITH GROUP II AND GROUP III SUBJECTS. CONCLUSION: CROSS-SECTIONAL OBSERVATION DONE AMONG THREE GROUPS SHOWED THAT INDIVIDUALS PRACTICING YOGA REGULARLY HAD LOW SERUM CORTISOL LEVELS, HAM-A SCALE AND ZSDS SCORES, AND BETTER PERIODONTAL HEALTH. 2016 13 963 34 EFFECTS OF A YOGA PROGRAM ON MENSTRUAL CRAMPS AND MENSTRUAL DISTRESS IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA: A SINGLE-BLIND, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVES: TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF A YOGA PROGRAM ON MENSTRUAL CRAMPS AND MENSTRUAL DISTRESS IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA. DESIGN: SINGLE-BLIND, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. PARTICIPANTS: 40 RANDOMLY SELECTED UNDERGRADUATE NURSING STUDENTS, WITH 20 EACH ASSIGNED TO AN EXERCISE OR A CONTROL GROUP. INTERVENTION: THE PARTICIPANTS ENGAGED IN A YOGA PROGRAM FOR 60 MINUTES ONCE A WEEK FOR 12 WEEKS. THE PROGRAM CONSISTED OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE COMBINED WITH RELAXATION AND MEDITATION. OUTCOME MEASURES: MENSTRUAL CRAMPS AND MENSTRUAL DISTRESS LEVELS WERE MEASURED BY USING THE VISUAL ANALOGUE SCALE FOR PAIN AND THE MENSTRUAL DISTRESS QUESTIONNAIRE, RESPECTIVELY. DATA WERE ANALYZED BY USING THE KOLMOGOROV-SMIRNOV AND SHAPIRO-WILK NORMALITY TESTS, T-TEST, CHI-SQUARE TEST, LOGISTIC REGRESSION ANALYSIS, AND MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (SPSS PROGRAM). RESULTS: MENSTRUAL PAIN INTENSITY (GROUP DIFFERENCE, -0.94; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI], -1.47 TO -0.42; P = 0.001) AND MENSTRUAL DISTRESS (GROUP DIFFERENCE, -1.13; 95% CI, -1.43 TO -0.82; P < 0.0001) SCORES DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: THESE FINDINGS INDICATE THAT YOGA INTERVENTIONS MAY REDUCE MENSTRUAL CRAMPS AND MENSTRUAL DISTRESS IN FEMALE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA. 2016 14 460 49 CHANGES IN PAIN SELF-EFFICACY, COPING SKILLS, AND FEAR-AVOIDANCE BELIEFS IN A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF YOGA, PHYSICAL THERAPY, AND EDUCATION FOR CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN. OBJECTIVE: WE EVALUATED EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS FOR COGNITIVE APPRAISAL OF CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN (CLBP) IN AN UNDERSERVED POPULATION. METHODS: WE CONDUCTED A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF THE BACK TO HEALTH TRIAL, SHOWING YOGA TO BE NONINFERIOR TO PHYSICAL THERAPY (PT) FOR PAIN AND FUNCTION OUTCOMES AMONG ADULTS WITH CLBP (N = 320) RECRUITED FROM PRIMARY CARE CLINICS WITH PREDOMINANTLY LOW-INCOME PATIENTS. PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMIZED TO 12 WEEKS OF YOGA, PT, OR EDUCATION. COGNITIVE APPRAISAL WAS ASSESSED WITH THE PAIN SELF-EFFICACY QUESTIONNAIRE (PSEQ), COPING STRATEGIES QUESTIONNAIRE (CSQ), AND FEAR-AVOIDANCE BELIEFS QUESTIONNAIRE (FABQ). USING MULTIPLE IMPUTATION AND LINEAR REGRESSION, WE ESTIMATED WITHIN- AND BETWEEN-GROUP CHANGES IN COGNITIVE APPRAISAL AT 12 AND 52 WEEKS, WITH BASELINE AND THE EDUCATION GROUP AS REFERENCES. RESULTS: PARTICIPANTS (MEAN AGE = 46 YEARS) WERE MAJORITY FEMALE (64%) AND MAJORITY BLACK (57%), AND 54% HAD AN ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME <$30,000. ALL THREE GROUPS SHOWED IMPROVEMENTS IN PSEQ (RANGE 0-60) AT 12 WEEKS (YOGA, MEAN DIFFERENCE [MD] = 7.0, 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI]: 4.9, 9.0; PT, MD = 6.9, 95% CI: 4.7 TO 9.1; AND EDUCATION, MD = 3.4, 95% CI: 0.54 TO 6.3), WITH YOGA AND PT IMPROVEMENTS BEING CLINICALLY MEANINGFUL. AT 12 WEEKS, IMPROVEMENTS IN CATASTROPHIZING (CSQ, RANGE 0-36) WERE LARGEST IN THE YOGA AND PT GROUPS (MD = -3.0, 95% CI: -4.4 TO -1.6; MD = -2.7, 95% CI: -4.2 TO -1.2, RESPECTIVELY). CHANGES IN FABQ WERE SMALL. NO STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED ON PSEQ, CSQ, OR FABQ AT EITHER TIME POINT. MANY OF THE CHANGES OBSERVED AT 12 WEEKS WERE SUSTAINED AT 52 WEEKS. CONCLUSION: ALL THREE INTERVENTIONS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-EFFICACY AND CATASTROPHIZING AMONG LOW-INCOME, RACIALLY DIVERSE ADULTS WITH CLBP. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV IDENTIFIER NCT01343927. 2022 15 2549 47 YOGA FOR CANCER SURVIVORS WITH CHEMOTHERAPY-INDUCED PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY: HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE OUTCOMES. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS A MEDITATIVE MOVEMENT THERAPY FOCUSED ON MIND-BODY AWARENESS. THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQOL) OUTCOMES IN PATIENTS WITH CHEMOTHERAPY-INDUCED PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY (CIPN) IS UNCLEAR. METHODS: WE CONDUCTED A PILOT RANDOMIZED WAIT-LIST CONTROLLED TRIAL OF 8 WEEKS OF YOGA (N = 21) VERSUS WAIT-LIST CONTROL (N = 20) FOR CIPN IN 41 BREAST AND GYNECOLOGICAL CANCER SURVIVORS WITH PERSISTENT MODERATE TO SEVERE CIPN. HRQOL ENDPOINTS WERE HOSPITAL ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCALE (HADS), BRIEF FATIGUE INVENTORY (BFI), AND INSOMNIA SEVERITY INDEX (ISI). THE TREATMENT EXPECTANCY SCALE (TES) WAS ADMINISTERED AT BASELINE. WE ESTIMATED MEAN CHANGES AND 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CIS) FROM BASELINE TO WEEKS 8 AND 12 AND COMPARED ARMS USING CONSTRAINED LINEAR MIXED MODELS. RESULTS: AT WEEK 8, HADS ANXIETY SCORES DECREASED -1.61 (-2.75, -0.46) IN THE YOGA ARM AND -0.32 (-1.38, 0.75) POINTS IN THE WAIT-LIST CONTROL ARM (P = 0.099). AT WEEK 12, HADS ANXIETY SCORES DECREASED -1.42 (-2.57, -0.28) IN YOGA COMPARED TO AN INCREASE OF 0.46 (-0.60, 1.53) IN WAIT-LIST CONTROL (P = 0.017). THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN HADS DEPRESSION, BFI, OR ISI SCORES BETWEEN YOGA AND WAIT-LIST CONTROL. BASELINE TES WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN YOGA THAN IN WAIT-LIST CONTROL (14.9 VS. 12.7, P = 0.019). TES WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH HADS ANXIETY REDUCTION AND HADS ANXIETY REDUCTION WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH CIPN PAIN REDUCTION. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA MAY REDUCE ANXIETY IN PATIENTS WITH CIPN. FUTURE STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO CONFIRM THESE FINDINGS. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV IDENTIFIER: NCT03292328. 2021 16 34 47 A 12-WEEK IYENGAR YOGA PROGRAM IMPROVED BALANCE AND MOBILITY IN OLDER COMMUNITY-DWELLING PEOPLE: A PILOT RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: EXERCISE THAT CHALLENGES BALANCE CAN IMPROVE MOBILITY AND PREVENT FALLS IN OLDER ADULTS. YOGA AS A PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OPTION FOR OLDER ADULTS IS NOT WELL STUDIED. THIS TRIAL EVALUATED THE FEASIBILITY AND EFFECT OF A 12-WEEK IYENGAR YOGA PROGRAM ON BALANCE AND MOBILITY IN OLDER PEOPLE. METHODS: WE CONDUCTED A BLINDED, PILOT RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL WITH INTENTION-TO-TREAT ANALYSIS. PARTICIPANTS WERE 54 COMMUNITY DWELLERS (MEAN AGE 68 YEARS, SD 7.1) NOT CURRENTLY PARTICIPATING IN YOGA OR TAI CHI. THE INTERVENTION GROUP (N = 27) PARTICIPATED IN A 12-WEEK, TWICE-WEEKLY YOGA PROGRAM FOCUSED ON STANDING POSTURES AND RECEIVED A FALL PREVENTION EDUCATION BOOKLET. THE CONTROL GROUP (N = 27) RECEIVED THE EDUCATION BOOKLET ONLY. PRIMARY OUTCOME WAS STANDING BALANCE COMPONENT OF THE SHORT PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE BATTERY WITH ADDITION OF ONE-LEGGED STANCE TIME (STANDING BALANCE). SECONDARY OUTCOMES WERE THE TIMED SIT-TO-STAND TEST, TIMED 4-M WALK, ONE-LEGGED STAND WITH EYES CLOSED, AND SHORT FALLS EFFICACY SCALE-INTERNATIONAL. FEASIBILITY WAS MEASURED BY RECORDING CLASS ATTENDANCE AND ADVERSE EVENTS. RESULTS: FIFTY-TWO PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED FOLLOW-UP ASSESSMENTS. THE INTERVENTION GROUP SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED COMPARED WITH CONTROL GROUP ON STANDING BALANCE (MEAN DIFFERENCE = 1.52 SECONDS, 95% CI 0.10-2.96, P = .04), SIT-TO-STAND TEST (MEAN DIFFERENCE = -3.43 SECONDS, 95% CI -5.23 TO -1.64, P < .001), 4-M WALK (MEAN DIFFERENCE = -0.50 SECONDS, 95% CI -0.72 TO -0.28, P < .001), AND ONE-LEGGED STAND WITH EYES CLOSED (MEAN DIFFERENCE = 1.93 SECONDS, 95% CI 0.40-3.46, P = .02). AVERAGE CLASS ATTENDANCE WAS 20 OF 24 CLASSES (83%). NO SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS OCCURRED. CONCLUSIONS: THIS TRIAL DEMONSTRATES THE BALANCE AND MOBILITY-RELATED BENEFITS AND FEASIBILITY OF IYENGAR YOGA FOR OLDER PEOPLE. THE FALL PREVENTION EFFECT OF IYENGAR YOGA WARRANTS FURTHER INVESTIGATION. 2013 17 507 49 COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF PILATES AND YOGA GROUP EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS FOR CHRONIC MECHANICAL NECK PAIN: QUASI-RANDOMISED PARALLEL CONTROLLED STUDY. OBJECTIVES: TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PILATES AND YOGA GROUP EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH CHRONIC NECK PAIN (CNP). DESIGN: QUASI-RANDOMISED PARALLEL CONTROLLED STUDY. SETTING: COMMUNITY, UNIVERSITY AND PRIVATE PRACTICE SETTINGS IN FOUR LOCATIONS. PARTICIPANTS: FIFTY-SIX INDIVIDUALS WITH CNP SCORING >/=3/10 ON THE NUMERIC PAIN RATING SCALE FOR >3 MONTHS (CONTROLS N=17, PILATES N=20, YOGA N=19). INTERVENTIONS: EXERCISE PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED 12 SMALL-GROUP SESSIONS WITH MODIFICATIONS AND PROGRESSIONS SUPERVISED BY A PHYSIOTHERAPIST. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: THE PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE WAS THE NECK DISABILITY INDEX (NDI). SECONDARY OUTCOMES WERE PAIN RATINGS, RANGE OF MOVEMENT AND POSTURAL MEASUREMENTS COLLECTED AT BASELINE, 6 WEEKS AND 12 WEEKS. FOLLOW-UP WAS PERFORMED 6 WEEKS AFTER COMPLETION OF THE EXERCISE CLASSES (WEEK 18). RESULTS: NDI DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE PILATES {BASELINE: 11.1 [STANDARD DEVIATION (SD) 4.3] VS WEEK 12: 6.8 (SD 4.3); MEAN DIFFERENCE -4.3 (95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL -1.64 TO -6.7); P<0.001} AND YOGA GROUPS [BASELINE: 12.8 (SD 7.4) VS WEEK 12: 8.1 (SD 5.6); MEAN DIFFERENCE -4.7 (95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL -2.1 TO -7.4); P<0.00], WITH NO CHANGE IN THE CONTROL GROUP. PAIN RATINGS ALSO IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY. MODERATE-TO-LARGE EFFECT SIZES (0.7 TO 1.8) AND LOW NUMBERS NEEDED TO TREAT WERE FOUND. THERE WERE NO DIFFERENCES IN OUTCOMES BETWEEN THE EXERCISE GROUPS OR ASSOCIATED ADVERSE EFFECTS. NO IMPROVEMENTS IN RANGE OF MOVEMENT OR POSTURE WERE FOUND. CONCLUSIONS: PILATES AND YOGA GROUP EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS WITH APPROPRIATE MODIFICATIONS AND SUPERVISION WERE SAFE AND EQUALLY EFFECTIVE FOR DECREASING DISABILITY AND PAIN COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH MILD-TO-MODERATE CNP. PHYSIOTHERAPISTS MAY CONSIDER INCLUDING THESE APPROACHES IN A PLAN OF CARE. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: CLINICALTRIALS.GOV NCT01999283. 2016 18 2415 42 YOGA AND MEDITATION FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS-A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS HAVE ONLY VERY LIMITED TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS TRIAL WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF A 12-WEEK TRADITIONAL HATHA YOGA AND MEDITATION INTERVENTION ON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS. METHODS: PATIENTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED EITHER TO A 12-WEEK YOGA AND MEDITATION INTERVENTION OR TO USUAL CARE. THE PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE WAS TOTAL MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS (MENOPAUSE RATING SCALE [MRS] TOTAL SCORE). SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES INCLUDED MRS SUBSCALES, QUALITY OF LIFE (FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CANCER THERAPY-BREAST), FATIGUE (FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CHRONIC ILLNESS THERAPY-FATIGUE), DEPRESSION, AND ANXIETY (HOSPITAL ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCALE). OUTCOMES WERE ASSESSED AT WEEK 12 AND WEEK 24 AFTER RANDOMIZATION. RESULTS: IN TOTAL, 40 WOMEN (MEAN AGE +/- STANDARD DEVIATION, 49.2 +/- 5.9 YEARS) WERE RANDOMIZED TO YOGA (N = 19) OR TO USUAL CARE (N = 21). WOMEN IN THE YOGA GROUP REPORTED SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER TOTAL MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS COMPARED WITH THE USUAL CARE GROUP AT WEEK 12 (MEAN DIFFERENCE, -5.6; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, -9.2 TO -1.9; P = .004) AND AT WEEK 24 (MEAN DIFFERENCE, -4.5; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, -8.3 TO -0.7; P = .023). AT WEEK 12, THE YOGA GROUP REPORTED LESS SOMATOVEGETATIVE, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND UROGENITAL MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS; LESS FATIGUE; AND IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE (ALL P < .05). AT WEEK 24, ALL EFFECTS PERSISTED EXCEPT FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS. SHORT-TERM EFFECTS ON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS REMAINED SIGNIFICANT WHEN ONLY WOMEN WHO WERE RECEIVING ANTIESTROGEN MEDICATION (N = 36) WERE ANALYZED. SIX MINOR ADVERSE EVENTS OCCURRED IN EACH GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA COMBINED WITH MEDITATION CAN BE CONSIDERED A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE COMPLEMENTARY INTERVENTION FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS. THE EFFECTS SEEM TO PERSIST FOR AT LEAST 3 MONTHS. 2015 19 1831 50 PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTION, IYENGAR YOGA, AND COHERENT BREATHING: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED DOSING STUDY. BACKGROUND: EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT YOGA MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER (MDD). STUDIES EVALUATING THE "DOSING" OF YOGA TREATMENT AND EFFICACY FOR MDD ARE NEEDED. THE GOAL OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF AN INTERVENTION COMBINING IYENGAR YOGA AND COHERENT BREATHING IN PARTICIPANTS WITH MDD AND DETERMINE THE OPTIMAL INTERVENTION DOSE. METHODS: THIRTY-TWO PARTICIPANTS (18 TO 65 Y OF AGE) DIAGNOSED WITH MDD WERE RANDOMIZED TO A HIGH-DOSE GROUP (HDG) OR A LOW-DOSE GROUP (LDG) OF YOGA AND COHERENT BREATHING FOR 12 WEEKS. THE HDG (N=15) INVOLVED THREE 90-MINUTE YOGA CLASSES AND FOUR 30-MINUTE HOMEWORK SESSIONS PER WEEK. THE LDG (N=15) INVOLVED TWO 90-MINUTE YOGA CLASSES AND THREE 30-MINUTE HOMEWORK SESSIONS PER WEEK. PARTICIPANTS WERE EVALUATED AT BASELINE, WEEK 4, WEEK 8, AND WEEK 12 WITH THE FOLLOWING INSTRUMENTS: POSITIVITY SELF-TEST, SPIELBERGER STATE ANXIETY INVENTORY, PATIENT HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE-9, PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INDEX, AND EXERCISE-INDUCED FEELING INVENTORY. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING INTENT-TO-TREAT METHODS. RESULTS: SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN ALL OUTCOME MEASURES WERE FOUND FOR BOTH GROUPS, WITH ACUTE AND CUMULATIVE BENEFITS. ALTHOUGH THE HDG SHOWED GREATER IMPROVEMENTS ON ALL SCALES, BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCES DID NOT REACH SIGNIFICANCE, POSSIBLY DUE TO LACK OF POWER BECAUSE OF THE SMALL SAMPLE SIZE. CUMULATIVE YOGA MINUTES WERE CORRELATED WITH IMPROVEMENT IN OUTCOME MEASURES. LIMITATION: THIS DOSING STUDY DID NOT INCLUDE A NON-YOGA CONTROL. CONCLUSIONS: IMPROVEMENT IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS CORRELATED WITH CUMULATIVE YOGA PRACTICE. BOTH INTERVENTIONS REDUCED SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY AND INCREASED FEELINGS OF POSITIVITY. THE TIME COMMITMENT FOR YOGA PRACTICE NEEDS TO BE WEIGHED AGAINST BENEFITS WHEN DESIGNING YOGA INTERVENTIONS. 2019 20 1118 53 EFFICACY OF AN EIGHT-WEEK YOGA INTERVENTION ON SYMPTOMS OF RESTLESS LEGS SYNDROME (RLS): A PILOT STUDY. BACKGROUND: RESTLESS LEGS SYNDROME (RLS) IS A COMMON AND HIGHLY BURDENSOME SLEEP DISORDER. WHILE RELAXATION THERAPIES, INCLUDING YOGA, ARE OFTEN RECOMMENDED FOR RLS MANAGEMENT, RIGOROUS SUPPORTING RESEARCH IS SPARSE. THE GOAL OF THIS PRELIMINARY STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON RLS SYMPTOMS AND RELATED OUTCOMES IN WOMEN WITH RLS. METHODS: PARTICIPANTS WERE 13 NONSMOKING WOMEN WITH MODERATE TO SEVERE RLS, WHO DID NOT HAVE DIABETES, SLEEP APNEA, OR OTHER SERIOUS CONCOMITANT CHRONIC CONDITIONS, AND WHO WERE NOT PREGNANT. THE INTERVENTION WAS A GENTLE, 8-WEEK IYENGAR YOGA PROGRAM. CORE OUTCOMES ASSESSED PRE- AND POST-TREATMENT WERE RLS SYMPTOMS AND SYMPTOM SEVERITY (INTERNATIONAL RLS SCALE [IRLS] AND RLS ORDINAL SCALE), SLEEP QUALITY (MEDICAL OUTCOMES STUDY SLEEP SCALE), MOOD (PROFILE OF MOOD STATES), AND PERCEIVED STRESS (PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE). PARTICIPANTS ALSO COMPLETED YOGA LOGS AND A BRIEF EXIT QUESTIONNAIRE REGARDING THEIR EXPERIENCE WITH THE STUDY. RESULTS: TEN (10) WOMEN, AGED 32-66 YEARS, COMPLETED THE STUDY. PARTICIPANTS ATTENDED AN AVERAGE 13.4+/-0.5 (OF 16 POSSIBLE) CLASSES, AND COMPLETED A MEAN OF 4.1+/-0.3 (OF 5 POSSIBLE) HOMEWORK SESSIONS/WEEK. AT FOLLOW-UP, PARTICIPANTS DEMONSTRATED STRIKING REDUCTIONS IN RLS SYMPTOMS AND SYMPTOM SEVERITY, WITH SYMPTOMS DECREASING TO MINIMAL/MILD IN ALL BUT 1 WOMAN AND NO PARTICIPANT SCORING IN THE SEVERE RANGE BY WEEK 8. EFFECT SIZES (COHEN'S D) WERE LARGE: 1.6 FOR IRLS TOTAL, AND 2.2 FOR RLS ORDINAL SCALE. IRLS SCORES DECLINED SIGNIFICANTLY WITH INCREASING MINUTES OF HOMEWORK PRACTICE PER SESSION (R=0.70, P=0.025) AND TOTAL HOMEWORK MINUTES (R=0.64, P<0.05), SUGGESTING A POSSIBLE DOSE-RESPONSE RELATION. PARTICIPANTS ALSO SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN SLEEP, PERCEIVED STRESS, AND MOOD (ALL P'S