Sudarshan Kriya yoga improves quality of life in healthy people living with HIV (PLHIV): results from an open label randomized clinical trial

Abstract

Background & objectives:Improving quality of life (QOL) of healthy people living with HIV (PLHIV) is critical needing home-based, long-term strategy. Sudarshan Kriya yoga (SKY) intervention is acknowledged for its positive impact on health. It is hypothesised that SKY would improve PLHIV's QOL, justifying an evaluation.Methods:In this open label randomized controlled pilot trial, 61 adult PLHIV with CD4 count more than 400 cells/µl and Karnofsky scale score above 70 were enrolled. Those with cardiac disease, jaundice, tuberculosis, or on antiretroviral therapy/yoga intervention were excluded. All were given standard care, randomized to SKY intervention (31: I-SKY) and only standard of care in control (30: O-SOC) arms. The I-SKY participants were trained for six days to prepare for daily practice of SKY at home for 30 min. A validated 31-item WHOQOL-HIVBREF questionnaire was used to document effect in both arms from baseline to three visits at 4 wk interval.Results:Baseline QOL scores, hypertension and CD4 count were similar in both arms. An overall 6 per cent improvement of QOL scores was observed in I-SKY group as compared to O-SOC group, after controlling for baseline variables like age, gender, education and occupation (P =0.016); 12 per cent for physical (P =0.004), 11 per cent psychological (P =0.023) and 9 per cent level of independence (P =0.001) domains. Improvement in I-SKY observed at post-training and in the SKY adherence group showed increase in these two domains.Conclusions:A significant improvement in QOL scores was observed for the three health related QOL domains in SKY intervention arm. This low cost strategy improved physical and psychological state of PLHIV calling for upscaling with effective monitoring for sustainability of quality of life.

Yoga research review

“…The yoga group showed improved quality of life and better scores on the perceived stress scale and the impact of events scale, although their cortisol levels did not change. And in the other quality of life study, yoga was compared with standard care [115]. The yoga group trained for six days to prepare for daily practice at home (30 min sessions).…”

The Feasibility and Impact of a Yoga Intervention on Cognition, Physical Function, Physical Activity, and Affective Outcomes Among People Living with HIV: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

“…intervention compared to controls.24 However, the intervention did not include a physical activity component, and PLWH taking antiretrovirals were excluded from the study. 24 An RCT with a 1-month integrated yoga intervention conducted with male (n = 24) and female (n = 20) PLWH showed a significant reduction in depression scores among yoga participants compared to controls.25 A metaanalysis of 7 RCTs conducted with PLWH determined that yoga interventions resulted in large improvements in perceived stress, positive affect, and anxiety compared to controls. 26 Finally, a systematic scoping review of 84 studies showed that mindfulness, relaxation techniques, cognitivebehavioral strategies, and yoga had beneficial effects on health-related quality of life and physical and psychological symptoms among PLWH.…”

Mind-body practices for people living with HIV: a systematic scoping review

“…We identified 11 papers, including 8 articles and 3 conference abstracts, that described 9 studies assessing the effects of yoga on people living with HIV [20, 35–42]. Five studies used a RCT design [20, 38–41], one had a RCT pilot design [42], and three [35–37] a one-group pretest-posttest design (Table 4). Two studies [36, 38] collected qualitative data to explore the participants’ perspective on the yoga’s effect on their wellbeing.…”