1 923 120 EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. OBJECTIVES. TO SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEW AND META-ANALYZE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA FOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS. METHODS. MEDLINE, SCOPUS, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, AND PSYCINFO WERE SCREENED THROUGH APRIL 2012. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) WERE INCLUDED IF THEY ASSESSED THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON MAJOR MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS, NAMELY, (1) PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS, (2) SOMATIC SYMPTOMS, (3) VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS, AND/OR (4) UROGENITAL SYMPTOMS. FOR EACH OUTCOME, STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCES (SMDS) AND 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CIS) WERE CALCULATED. TWO AUTHORS INDEPENDENTLY ASSESSED RISK OF BIAS USING THE RISK OF BIAS TOOL RECOMMENDED BY THE COCHRANE BACK REVIEW GROUP. RESULTS. FIVE RCTS WITH 582 PARTICIPANTS WERE INCLUDED IN THE QUALITATIVE REVIEW, AND 4 RCTS WITH 545 PARTICIPANTS WERE INCLUDED IN THE META-ANALYSIS. THERE WAS MODERATE EVIDENCE FOR SHORT-TERM EFFECTS ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS (SMD = -0.37; 95% CI -0.67 TO -0.07; P = 0.02). NO EVIDENCE WAS FOUND FOR TOTAL MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS, SOMATIC SYMPTOMS, VASOMOTOR SYMPTOMS, OR UROGENITAL SYMPTOMS. YOGA WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS. CONCLUSION. THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW FOUND MODERATE EVIDENCE FOR SHORT-TERM EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS IN MENOPAUSAL WOMEN. WHILE MORE RIGOROUS RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO UNDERPIN THESE RESULTS, YOGA CAN BE PRELIMINARILY RECOMMENDED AS AN ADDITIONAL INTERVENTION FOR WOMEN WHO SUFFER FROM PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPLAINTS ASSOCIATED WITH MENOPAUSE. 2012 2 2612 51 YOGA FOR RHEUMATIC DISEASES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. OBJECTIVE: TO EVALUATE THE QUALITY OF EVIDENCE AND THE STRENGTH OF RECOMMENDATION FOR YOGA AS AN ANCILLARY INTERVENTION IN RHEUMATIC DISEASES. METHODS: MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY AND INDMED WERE SEARCHED THROUGH FEBRUARY 2013. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) COMPARING YOGA WITH CONTROL INTERVENTIONS IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATIC DISEASES WERE INCLUDED. TWO AUTHORS INDEPENDENTLY ASSESSED THE RISK OF BIAS USING THE COCHRANE BACK REVIEW GROUP RISK OF BIAS TOOL. THE QUALITY OF EVIDENCE AND THE STRENGTH OF THE RECOMMENDATION FOR OR AGAINST YOGA WERE GRADED ACCORDING TO THE GRADE RECOMMENDATIONS. RESULTS: EIGHT RCTS WITH A TOTAL OF 559 SUBJECTS WERE INCLUDED; TWO RCTS HAD A LOW RISK OF BIAS. IN TWO RCTS ON FM SYNDROME, THERE WAS VERY LOW EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS ON PAIN AND LOW EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS ON DISABILITY. IN THREE RCTS ON OA, THERE WAS VERY LOW EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS ON PAIN AND DISABILITY. BASED ON TWO RCTS, VERY LOW EVIDENCE WAS FOUND FOR EFFECTS ON PAIN IN RA. NO EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS ON PAIN WAS FOUND IN ONE RCT ON CTS. NO RCT EXPLICITLY REPORTED SAFETY DATA. CONCLUSION: BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THIS REVIEW, ONLY WEAK RECOMMENDATIONS CAN BE MADE FOR THE ANCILLARY USE OF YOGA IN THE MANAGEMENT OF FM SYNDROME, OA AND RA AT THIS POINT. 2013 3 2614 76 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 4 2597 65 YOGA FOR MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. WHILE YOGA SEEMS TO BE EFFECTIVE IN A NUMBER OF NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS, THE EVIDENCE OF EFFICACY IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS REMAINS UNCLEAR. THE AIM OF THIS REVIEW WAS TO SYSTEMATICALLY ASSESS AND META-ANALYZE THE AVAILABLE DATA ON EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, THE COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS, PSYCINFO, CAM-QUEST, CAMBASE, AND INDMED WERE SEARCHED THROUGH MARCH 2014. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) OF YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS WERE INCLUDED IF THEY ASSESSED HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE, FATIGUE, AND/OR MOBILITY. MOOD, COGNITIVE FUNCTION, AND SAFETY WERE DEFINED AS SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES. RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE TOOL. SEVEN RCTS WITH A TOTAL OF 670 PATIENTS WERE INCLUDED. EVIDENCE FOR SHORT-TERM EFFECTS OF YOGA COMPARED TO USUAL CARE WERE FOUND FOR FATIGUE (STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE [SMD] = -0.52; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CI) = -1.02 TO -0.02; P = 0.04; HETEROGENEITY: I2 = 60%; CHI2 = 7.43; P = 0.06) AND MOOD (SMD = -0.55; 95%CI = -0.96 TO -0.13; P = 0.01; HETEROGENEITY: I2 = 0%; CHI2 = 1.25; P = 0.53), BUT NOT FOR HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE, MUSCLE FUNCTION, OR COGNITIVE FUNCTION. THE EFFECTS ON FATIGUE AND MOOD WERE NOT ROBUST AGAINST BIAS. NO SHORT-TERM OR LONGER TERM EFFECTS OF YOGA COMPARED TO EXERCISE WERE FOUND. YOGA WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS. IN CONCLUSION, SINCE NO METHODOLOGICAL SOUND EVIDENCE WAS FOUND, NO RECOMMENDATION CAN BE MADE REGARDING YOGA AS A ROUTINE INTERVENTION FOR PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. YOGA MIGHT BE CONSIDERED A TREATMENT OPTION FOR PATIENTS WHO ARE NOT ADHERENT TO RECOMMENDED EXERCISE REGIMENS. 2014 5 1064 39 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON IMMUNE FUNCTION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. OBJECTIVE: THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW ATTEMPTS TO CONFIRM THE ADDED EVIDENCE TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON IMMUNE FUNCTION. METHODS: THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, EMBASE, PSYCINFO, PUBMED, AND WEB OF SCIENCE ELECTRONIC DATABASES WERE SEARCHED ACCORDING TO THE PRISRMA METHOD TO IDENTIFY RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) ON THE IMMUNOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF YOGA PUBLISHED IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE FROM JANUARY 1, 2017, TO DECEMBER 31, 2020. THIS REVIEW COULD ONLY BE DESCRIPTIVELY SUMMARIZED BECAUSE OF HETEROGENEITY OF THE INCLUDED RCTS. RESULTS: ELEVEN POTENTIAL TRIALS WERE IDENTIFIED AND INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW. QUALITY APPRAISAL OF INCLUDED TRIALS RANGED FROM 3 FOR UNCLEAR RISK OF BIAS AND 8 FOR HIGH RISK OF BIAS. THERE IS EVIDENCE FROM 11 RCTS THAT YOGA MAY HAVE FAVORABLE EFFECTS FOR REDUCING THE LEVELS OF ANTI-INFLAMMATORY MARKERS. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA MAY BE USED AS A COMPLEMENTARY INTERVENTION FOR CLINICAL POPULATIONS OR HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS. 2021 6 222 75 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 7 1054 59 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 8 2568 53 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 9 355 47 ASSOCIATED FACTORS AND CONSEQUENCES OF RISK OF BIAS IN RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS OF YOGA: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. BACKGROUND: BIAS IN RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) OF COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY INTERVENTIONS SEEMS TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH SPECIFIC FACTORS AND TO POTENTIALLY DISTORT THE STUDIES' CONCLUSIONS. THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW ASSESSED ASSOCIATED FACTORS OF RISK OF BIAS AND CONSEQUENCES FOR THE STUDIES' CONCLUSIONS IN RCTS OF YOGA AS ONE OF THE MOST COMMONLY USED COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES. METHODS: MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, INDMED AND THE COCHRANE LIBRARY WERE SEARCHED THROUGH FEBRUARY 2014 FOR YOGA RCTS. RISK OF SELECTION BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE TOOL AND REGRESSED TO A) PUBLICATION YEAR; B) COUNTRY OF ORIGIN; C) JOURNAL TYPE; AND D) IMPACT FACTOR USING MULTIPLE LOGISTIC REGRESSION ANALYSIS. LIKEWISE, THE AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS WERE REGRESSED TO RISK OF BIAS. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 312 RCTS WERE INCLUDED. IMPACT FACTOR RANGED FROM 0.0 TO 39.2 (MEDIAN = 1.3); 60 RCT (19.2%) HAD A LOW RISK OF SELECTION BIAS, AND 252 (80.8%) HAD A HIGH OR UNCLEAR RISK OF SELECTION BIAS. ONLY PUBLICATION YEAR AND IMPACT FACTOR SIGNIFICANTLY PREDICTED LOW RISK OF BIAS; RCTS PUBLISHED AFTER 2001 (ADJUSTED ODDS RATIO (OR) = 12.6; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI) = 1.7, 94.0; P<0.001) AND THOSE PUBLISHED IN JOURNALS WITH IMPACT FACTOR (ADJUSTED OR = 2.6; 95%CI = 1.4, 4.9; P = 0.004) WERE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE LOW RISK OF BIAS. THE AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS WERE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH RISK OF BIAS. CONCLUSIONS: RISK OF SELECTION BIAS WAS GENERALLY HIGH IN RCTS OF YOGA; ALTHOUGH THE SITUATION HAS IMPROVED SINCE THE PUBLICATION OF THE REVISED CONSORT STATEMENT 2001. PRE-CONSORT RCTS AND THOSE PUBLISHED IN JOURNALS WITHOUT IMPACT FACTOR SHOULD BE HANDLED WITH INCREASED CARE; ALTHOUGH RISK OF BIAS IS UNLIKELY TO DISTORT THE RCTS' CONCLUSIONS. 2015 10 2540 61 YOGA FOR ANXIETY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. YOGA HAS BECOME A POPULAR APPROACH TO IMPROVE EMOTIONAL HEALTH. THE AIM OF THIS REVIEW WAS TO SYSTEMATICALLY ASSESS AND META-ANALYZE THE EFFECTIVENESS AND SAFETY OF YOGA FOR ANXIETY. MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, PSYCINFO, AND INDMED WERE SEARCHED THROUGH OCTOBER 2016 FOR RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) OF YOGA FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH ANXIETY DISORDERS OR ELEVATED LEVELS OF ANXIETY. THE PRIMARY OUTCOMES WERE ANXIETY AND REMISSION RATES, AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES WERE DEPRESSION, QUALITY OF LIFE, AND SAFETY. RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE TOOL. EIGHT RCTS WITH 319 PARTICIPANTS (MEAN AGE: 30.0-38.5 YEARS) WERE INCLUDED. RISK OF SELECTION BIAS WAS UNCLEAR FOR MOST RCTS. META-ANALYSES REVEALED EVIDENCE FOR SMALL SHORT-TERM EFFECTS OF YOGA ON ANXIETY COMPARED TO NO TREATMENT (STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCE [SMD] = -0.43; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL [CI] = -0.74, -0.11; P = .008), AND LARGE EFFECTS COMPARED TO ACTIVE COMPARATORS (SMD = -0.86; 95% CI = -1.56, -0.15; P = .02). SMALL EFFECTS ON DEPRESSION WERE FOUND COMPARED TO NO TREATMENT (SMD = -0.35; 95% CI = -0.66, -0.04; P = .03). EFFECTS WERE ROBUST AGAINST POTENTIAL METHODOLOGICAL BIAS. NO EFFECTS WERE FOUND FOR PATIENTS WITH ANXIETY DISORDERS DIAGNOSED BY DIAGNOSTIC AND STATISTICAL MANUAL CRITERIA, ONLY FOR PATIENTS DIAGNOSED BY OTHER METHODS, AND FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH ELEVATED LEVELS OF ANXIETY WITHOUT A FORMAL DIAGNOSIS. ONLY THREE RCTS REPORTED SAFETY-RELATED DATA BUT THESE INDICATED THAT YOGA WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED INJURIES. IN CONCLUSION, YOGA MIGHT BE AN EFFECTIVE AND SAFE INTERVENTION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH ELEVATED LEVELS OF ANXIETY. THERE WAS INCONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE FOR EFFECTS OF YOGA IN ANXIETY DISORDERS. MORE HIGH-QUALITY STUDIES ARE NEEDED AND ARE WARRANTED GIVEN THESE PRELIMINARY FINDINGS AND PLAUSIBLE MECHANISMS OF ACTION. 2018 11 223 50 A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON WEIGHT-RELATED OUTCOMES. INTRODUCTION: OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY ARE AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT MODIFIABLE RISK FACTORS FOR CHRONIC DISEASES AND PREMATURE DEATH. THE AIM OF THIS REVIEW WAS TO SYSTEMATICALLY ASSESS AND ANALYZE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON WEIGHT-RELATED OUTCOMES. METHODS: MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, AND THE COCHRANE LIBRARY WERE SCREENED THROUGH MARCH 2015 FOR RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS ON YOGA FOR WEIGHT-RELATED OUTCOMES IN THE GENERAL POPULATION OR OVERWEIGHT/OBESE INDIVIDUALS. RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE RISK OF BIAS TOOL ON THE FOLLOWING DOMAINS: SELECTION BIAS, PERFORMANCE BIAS, DETECTION BIAS, ATTRITION BIAS, REPORTING BIAS, AND OTHER BIAS. RESULTS: OUT OF 445 RECORDS IDENTIFIED DURING LITERATURE SEARCH, 30 TRIALS WITH A TOTAL OF 2173 PARTICIPANTS WERE INCLUDED. NO EFFECTS ON WEIGHT, BODY MASS INDEX, BODY FAT PERCENTAGE OR WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE WERE FOUND. IN STUDIES WITH HEALTHY ADULT PARTICIPANTS AN EFFECT OF YOGA COMPARED TO USUAL CARE WAS FOUND REGARDING WAIST/HIP RATIO (SMD=--1.00; 95% CI=--1.44, -0.55; P<0.001). IN STUDIES WITH OVERWEIGHT/OBESE PARTICIPANTS ONLY, EFFECTS RELATIVE TO USUAL CARE WERE FOUND FOR BODY MASS INDEX (SMD=-0.99; 95% CI=-1.67, -0.31; P=0.004). EFFECTS HOWEVER WERE NOT ROBUST AGAINST SELECTION BIAS; AND PUBLICATION BIAS COULD NOT BE RULED OUT. NO INTERVENTION-RELATED ADVERSE EVENTS WERE REPORTED. CONCLUSIONS: DESPITE METHODOLOGICAL DRAWBACKS, YOGA CAN BE PRELIMINARILY CONSIDERED A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION TO REDUCE BODY MASS INDEX IN OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE INDIVIDUALS. 2016 12 2578 33 YOGA FOR HEALTH CARE IN KOREA: A PROTOCOL FOR SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF CLINICAL TRIALS. THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AIMS TO EVALUATE THE THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS OF YOGA THERAPY USING AN EVIDENCE-BASED APPROACH AND INVESTIGATES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOGA AND THE MERIDIAN ENERGIES BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE CLINICAL STUDIES IN KOREA. SIXTEEN ELECTRONIC DATABASES WILL BE SEARCHED FROM THE INCEPTION OF THE STUDY UNTIL JANUARY 2016. ALL CLINICAL EVIDENCES THAT EVALUATE ANY TYPE OF YOGA AND ANY TYPE OF CONTROL IN INDIVIDUALS WITH ANY TYPE OF CONDITION WILL BE ELIGIBLE. THE METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY WILL BE ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE RISK OF BIAS TOOL FOR RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIALS AND THE NEWCASTLE-OTTAWA SCALE FOR NONRANDOMIZED STUDIES. TWO AUTHORS WILL INDEPENDENTLY ASSESS EACH STUDY FOR ELIGIBILITY AND THE RISK OF BIAS, AND THEN THEY WILL EXTRACT THE DATA. WITH ITS EXTENSIVE, UNBIASED SEARCH OF THE KOREAN LITERATURE FROM VARIOUS DATABASES WITHOUT ANY LANGUAGE RESTRICTIONS, THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WILL BE USEFUL FOR BOTH PRACTITIONERS IN THE FIELD OF YOGA RESEARCH AS WELL AS FOR PATIENTS. 2016 13 2591 65 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 14 2546 67 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 15 2124 36 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 16 2594 64 YOGA FOR METABOLIC SYNDROME: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND METABOLIC SYNDROME IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RISK FACTOR FOR DEVELOPING CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE AND TYPE 2 DIABETES. THE AIM OF THIS REVIEW WAS TO SYSTEMATICALLY ASSESS AND PERFORM A META-ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON THE PARAMETERS OF METABOLIC SYNDROME. METHODS MEDLINE/PUBMED, SCOPUS, THE COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS AND INDMED WERE SEARCHED AND SCREENED FROM THEIR INCEPTION THROUGH TO 8 MARCH 2016 FOR RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIALS ON YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME. RISK OF BIAS WAS ASSESSED USING THE COCHRANE RISK OF BIAS TOOL. RESULTS SEVEN TRIALS WITH A TOTAL OF 794 PARTICIPANTS WERE INCLUDED. NO EFFECTS OF YOGA ON RESOLUTION OF METABOLIC SYNDROME, DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, TRIGLYCERIDES, HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL AND FASTING PLASMA GLUCOSE WERE FOUND, BUT YOGA WAS SUPERIOR TO USUAL CARE FOR WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE (STANDARDISED MEAN DIFFERENCE (SMD) = -0.35; 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI) = -0.57 TO -0.13; P < 0.01) AND SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (SMD = -0.29; 95% CI = -0.51 TO -0.07; P = 0.01). HOWEVER, THESE EFFECTS WERE NOT ROBUST AGAINST SELECTION BIAS. NO INTERVENTION-RELATED ADVERSE EVENTS WERE REPORTED. CONCLUSION BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THIS META-ANALYSIS, NO RECOMMENDATION CAN BE MADE FOR OR AGAINST YOGA IN ORDER TO INFLUENCE THE PARAMETERS OF METABOLIC SYNDROME. DESPITE METHODOLOGICAL DRAWBACKS, AND UNTIL FURTHER RESEARCH IS UNDERTAKEN, YOGA CAN BE PRELIMINARILY CONSIDERED AS A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION FOR REDUCING WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE AND SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE IN INDIVIDUALS WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME WHO ARE NOT ADHERING TO CONVENTIONAL FORMS OF EXERCISE. 2016 17 2121 41 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 18 2599 46 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 19 2544 72 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 20 590 50 DETERMINING THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF YOGA IN CHRONIC STROKE CARE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND: SURVIVORS OF STROKE HAVE LONG-TERM PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES THAT IMPACT THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE. FEW INTERVENTIONS ARE AVAILABLE IN THE COMMUNITY TO ADDRESS THESE PROBLEMS. YOGA, A TYPE OF MINDFULNESS-BASED INTERVENTION, IS SHOWN TO BE EFFECTIVE IN PEOPLE WITH OTHER CHRONIC ILLNESSES AND MAY HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO ADDRESS MANY OF THE PROBLEMS REPORTED BY SURVIVORS OF STROKE. OBJECTIVES: TO DATE ONLY NARRATIVE REVIEWS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED. WE SOUGHT TO PERFORM, THE FIRST SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WITH META-ANALYSES OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) THAT INVESTIGATED YOGA FOR ITS POTENTIAL BENEFIT FOR CHRONIC SURVIVORS OF STROKE. METHODS: OVID MEDLINE, CINHAL PLUS, AMED, PUBMED, PSYCHINFO, PEDRO, COCHRANE DATABASE, SPORT DISCUSS, AND GOOGLE SCHOLAR WERE SEARCHED FOR PAPERS PUBLISHED BETWEEN JANUARY 1950 AND AUGUST 2016. REFERENCE LISTS OF INCLUDED PAPERS, REVIEW ARTICLES AND OPENGREY FOR GREY LITERATURE WERE ALSO SEARCHED. WE USED A MODIFIED COCHRANE TOOL TO EVALUATE RISK OF BIAS. THE METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY OF RCTS WAS ASSESSED USING THE GRADE APPROACH, RESULTS WERE COLLATED, AND RANDOM EFFECTS META-ANALYSES PERFORMED WHERE APPROPRIATE. RESULTS: THE SEARCH YIELDED FIVE ELIGIBLE PAPERS FROM FOUR RCTS WITH SMALL SAMPLE SIZES (N = 17-47). QUALITY OF RCTS WAS RATED AS LOW TO MODERATE. YOGA IS BENEFICIAL IN REDUCING STATE ANXIETY SYMPTOMS AND DEPRESSION IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP (MEAN DIFFERENCES FOR STATE ANXIETY 6.05, 95% CI:-0.02 TO 12.12; P = 0.05 AND STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCES FOR DEPRESSION: 0.50, 95% CI:-0.01 TO 1.02; P = 0.05). CONSISTENT BUT NONSIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS WERE DEMONSTRATED FOR BALANCE, TRAIT ANXIETY, AND OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA MAY BE EFFECTIVE FOR AMELIORATING SOME OF THE LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES OF STROKE. LARGE WELL-DESIGNED RCTS ARE NEEDED TO CONFIRM THESE FINDINGS. 2017