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.

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.

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 kind of physical activity as well as stress management strategy. Growing evidence suggests the beneficial effects of yoga on various ailments. OBJECTIVES: To determine the effectiveness of yoga for secondary prevention of mortality, morbidity, and health related quality of life of patients with CHD. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) on The Cochrane Library (2012, Issue 1), MEDLINE (1948 to January 2012), EMBASE (1980 to January 2012), ISI Web of Science for conference proceedings (1970 to January 2012), China Journal Net (CJN) (1994 to March 2012), WanFang Data (1990 to March 2012), and HKInChiP (from 1980). Ongoing studies were identified in the metaRegister of Controlled Trials (April 2012) and the World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (April 2012). No language restrictions were applied. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the influence of yoga practice on CHD outcomes. We included studies that had at least a six months follow-up period. Men and women (aged 18 years and above) with a diagnosis of acute or chronic CHD were included. We included studies with one group practicing a type of yoga compared to the control group receiving either no intervention or interventions other than yoga. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two authors independently selected studies according to the pre-specified inclusion criteria. Disagreements were resolved by consensus or 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.

Maximum oxygen uptake and body composition of healthy Hong Kong Chinese adult men and women aged 20 - 64 years.

The aims of the present study were to assess the maximal oxygen uptake and body composition of adult Chinese men and women, and to determine how these variables relate to age. The cross-sectional sample consisted of 196 men and 221 women aged 20 - 64 years. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) was determined by indirect calorimetry during a maximal exercise test on an electrically braked cycle ergometer. The correlations between VO2max and fat mass were -0.52 in men and -0.58 in women. Linear regression defined the cross-sectional age-related decline in VO2max as 0.35 ml kg(-1) min(-1) year(-1) in men and 0.30 ml kg(-1) min(-1) year(-1) in women. Multiple regression analysis showed that more than 50% of this cross-sectional decline in VO2max was due to fat mass, lean mass, and age. Adding fat mass and lean mass to the multiple regression models reduced the age regression mass from 0.35 to 0.24 ml kg(-1) min(-1) year(-1) in men and from 0.30 to 0.15 ml kg(-1) min(-1) year(-1) in women. We conclude that age, fat mass, and lean mass are independent determinants of maximal oxygen uptake in Chinese adults.

A community model of group therapy for the older patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: A community-based programme for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients in group sessions is designed, and the feasibility, acceptability and physical and psychosocial outcomes evaluated. METHODS: Patients with COPD discharged from hospital, or those attending specialist outpatient clinic, with a history of hospital admission owing to COPD in the preceding 12 months were recruited. Those who had malignancy or were housebound were excluded. Group sessions were arranged once a week in a Community Centre, and consisted of two hourly sessions. The components of each session consist of education regarding the disease, breathing techniques, use of oxygen and other medication, smoking cessation, nutrition, dyspnoea management skills, relaxation and energy conservation techniques, introduction of social and community support, and strengthening as well as aerobic exercises. Assessments before and after intervention include lung function, 6 minutes walk test (6MWT), general Health Questionnaire (GHQ), the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), and a COPD knowledge Questionnaire. A programme evaluation was carried out using questionnaire and group discussions. RESULTS: Forty-four subjects were recruited, with 75% completing the programme, and 20% with drawing for unavoidable reasons. Statistically significant improvement was noted in all domains of the GHQ, SGRQ, and knowledge test, while the mean 6MWT improved, although statistical significance was not reached. Subjects were enthusiastic about the provision of this service in helping them cope with the disease through empowerment and mutual support. CONCLUSION: A group community intervention programme for COPD patients is feasible and acceptable, with positive psychosocial outcomes. Such a model could be further developed and cost-effectiveness evaluated as a model of chronic disease management in the community.