Effect of yoga on adipokine levels among overweight and obese people: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Adipokines have an important role in the pathophysiology of overweight and obesity and associated inflammatory diseases. OBJECTIVE: The present review aims to evaluate the role of Yoga on adipokines among people with overweight and obesity. METHODS: Authors performed a systematic search for relevant research studies as per the PRISMA guidelines in Google Scholar, Medline/Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, PsychInfo electronic databases. Two independent authors conducted the selection of articles, data extraction, assessment of the risk of bias for individual studies. Any disagreements were resolved by discussion with the third author. RESULTS: Eight randomized trials and four uncontrolled trials involving a total of 1054 participants were included. Yoga with varying frequencies was administered for different durations. The studied adipokines among overweight and obese were leptin, adiponectin, interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), chemerin, visfatin, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-ß). The methodological quality of the included studies was low to moderate on the Cochrane risk of bias tool and Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale. The higher the frequency and duration of Yoga practice, the more significant changes in the adipokine levels were seen. CONCLUSION: The present review indicates that Yoga practices positively impacts adipokines among people with overweight and obesity. However, the present study precludes the generalizability of results due to the methodological heterogeneity, the type of Yoga intervention, and settings.

Prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases and Its Associated Factors Among Urban Elderly of Six Indian States.

Aims The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence, impact of health determinants on non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and multimorbidity among urban elderly in India. Methods This is a cross-sectional study involving a total of 1,671 (870 male and 801 female) respondents aged 60-80 years. Multistage sampling was used for the recruitment of the participants. A total of 12 sample areas from 12 cities of six southern states of south India were selected. Through survey form, information regarding demographic characteristics, health-influencing lifestyle factors, and history of nine NCDs was collected. Results The mean age of participants was 68.5 ± 6.01 years.. The prevalence of hypertension was 40.4%, followed by diabetes (31.2%), arthritis (22.1%), sensory impairment (10.1%), heart diseases (7.8%), and dyslipidemia (7.0%). 74.1% of participants had at least one morbidity, and 40.0% of people had multimorbidity. Being overweight is the highest risk health determinant for hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, stroke, and joint pain. Obese people have 64% more risk of hypertension than people with normal BMI. People with disturbed sleep have increased risk of hypertension, high cholesterol, and joint pain by more than 80% compared to people with proper sleep. Among the modifiable health determinants of obesity, disturbed sleep, constipation, and physical activity up to 30 minutes were positively associated with multimorbidity. Those in the age group of 70 to 80 years have a high risk for NCDs and multimorbidity compared to those in the age group of 60 to 70 years. Conclusions A healthy lifestyle is necessary to reduce the burden of NCDs among the elderly. Developing holistic health policies seems an urgent need.

Efficacy of Integrated Yoga and Ayurveda Rasayana on cognitive functions in elderly with mild cognitive impairment: Non-randomized three-arm clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Yoga and Ayurveda are ancient sciences which emphasize on the cure of disease and the proportion of health. Both sciences are also known to reduce the aging process and are helpful in aging-related disorders. OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the effects of Yoga and Ayurveda Rasayana combined intervention on cognition among the elderly with mild cognitive impairment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-two elderly persons (average age 63.3 ± 6.44 years) received Ayurveda Rasayana (AR) (n = 23) or Integrated Yoga (IY) (n = 25) or combined (IY plus AR) intervention (n = 24) for eight weeks. AR treatment consisted of Brahmi ghrita, and IY consisted of asana, pranayama, meditation, and relaxation techniques. Executive function, verbal fluency, attention, processing speed, short-term and working memory, and learning and verbal memory were assessed at the baseline and after eight weeks. RESULTS: Within-group analysis shows that there was a significant time main effect (p < 0.05) in all cognitive measures in the three groups (IY, AR, and IY plus AR) except Digit backward test. Bonferroni post hoc test shows a significant difference in pre to post in all variables. In the between-group analysis, there was a substantial group difference for Rey's Auditory Verbal Learning Test- hits, F (2,69) = 4.376 (P < 0.016), Rey's Auditory Verbal Learning Test-Average, F (2,69) = 4.727 (0.012), Digit backward test, F (2,69) = 5.766 (0.005) after eight weeks of intervention. CONCLUSION: Both Ayurveda Rasayana and Integrated Yoga intervention were found effective in improving cognitive abilities among the elderly with MCI. Combined Ayurveda Rasayana and Yoga intervention significantly improved learning, attention, processing speed, and working memory compared to individual response among elderly persons with MCI.

Impact of Yoga on cognition and mental health among elderly: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive decline and psychological health problems are the most frequently observed and under-treated issues among the elderly. Many studies have assessed the efficacy of Yoga on cognitive and mental health parameters among the elderly. However, up to date, there is no systematic review done to evaluate the role of Yoga-based interventions on cognition and mental health in the elderly. OBJECTIVE: This review evaluates the beneficial effect of Yoga in improving cognitive and mental health in the elderly. METHODOLOGY: A comprehensive search has performed on Medline, Google Scholar, PubMed, and PsycINFO electronic database from their inception to January 2019. The literature search was constructed around search term for "mental health", "cognition", "yoga" and "elderly". Out of 3388 records, we were considered only Randomized control trials (RCTs) with Yoga-based interventions on the older people for this review. Risk of bias was assessed using Delphi list and PEDro criteria. RESULTS: After filtering out irrelevant studies, in our search, we come across 13 RCTs, and they included in this systematic review. Of 13 RCTs, four studies assessed only cognitive parameters and five studies assessed only psychological parameters, and four studies evaluated both. Study quality was fair to moderate of included RCTs on the Delphi list and PEDro criteria. Maximum studied variables in cognition were executive functions, memory, attention, and language while in mental health depression, anxiety, stress, and mood. Yoga-based interventions have some beneficial effects on attention, executive functions among cognitive variables, and depression among mental health parameters among the elderly. CONCLUSION: The present review indicates that Yoga-based interventions have some positive evidence in improving attention, executive functions and memory of cognition, while depression in mental health compared to active control among the elderly. However, methodological limitations and small number of studies preclude confirming the potential benefits of Yoga-based interventions on cognition and mental health among the elderly. Further, this review strongly recommends more randomized control trials with standard study methodology, use of validated modules of Yoga intervention, and long term follow up to have definite conclusions.

Designing and validation of a yoga-based module for obesity with metabolic comorbidities.

OBJECTIVES: Obesity is a condition of increased adipose tissue in the body, which is commonly associated with various comorbidities like diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, back pain, and many others. Yoga modules have been designed and validated for obesity; however, we couldn't find any specific module for metabolic syndrome, a condition which includes obesity, diabetes mellitus type 2 and/or hypertension together. Keeping this in view, our study aimed to develop and validate a specific generic yoga-based intervention module for metabolic syndrome patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A yoga module was designed based on traditional and contemporary yoga literature as well as published studies. We derived the yoga practices for the module, from these yoga texts and research evidence were already available. The yoga module was sent to 40 yoga experts for their validation. RESULTS: Twenty-two experts gave their opinion on the usefulness of a yoga module for patients with metabolic syndrome with some suggestions. Of these experts, 73% were males, and 27% were females. Yoga therapy practices with content validity ratio (CVR) >0.08 were included in the final module. In total, 86% (31 of 36 items) of the items in the initial module were retained. CONCLUSION: A specific yoga-based module for metabolic syndrome was designed and validated by experts. Further studies are needed to confirm the efficacy and clinical utility of the module.Additional clinical validation is suggested.

Effect of integrated Yoga and Physical therapy on audiovisual reaction time, anxiety and depression in patients with chronic multiple sclerosis: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by a significant deterioration in auditory and visual reaction times along with associated depression and anxiety. Yoga and Physical therapy (PT) interventions have been found to enhance recovery from these problems in various neuropsychiatric illnesses, but sufficient evidence is lacking in chronic MS population. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of integrated Yoga and Physical therapy (IYP) on audiovisual reaction times, depression and anxiety in patients suffering from chronic MS. METHODS: From a neuro-rehabilitation center in Germany, 11 patients (six females) suffering from MS for 19±7.4 years were recruited. Subjects were in the age range of 55.45±10.02 years and had Extended Disability Status Scores (EDSS) below 7. All the subjects received mind-body intervention of integrated Yoga and Physical therapy (IYP) for 3 weeks. The intervention was given in a residential setup. Patients followed a routine involving Yogic physical postures, pranayama, and meditations along with various Physical therapy (PT) techniques for 21 days, 5 days a week, 5 h/day. They were assessed before and after intervention for changes in audiovisual reaction times (using Brain Fit Model No. OT 400), anxiety, and depression [using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)]. Data was analyzed using paired samples test. RESULTS: There was significant improvement in visual reaction time (p=0.01), depression (p=0.04), and anxiety (p=0.02) scores at the end of 3 weeks as compared to the baseline. Auditory reaction time showed reduction with borderline statistical significance (p=0.058). CONCLUSIONS: This pilot project suggests utility of IYP intervention for improving audiovisual reaction times and psychological health in chronic MS patients. In future, randomized controlled trials with larger sample size should be performed to confirm these findings.