Yoga in schizophrenia: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials

Abstract

Vancampfort D, Vansteelandt K, Scheewe T, Probst M, Knapen J, De Herdt A, De Hert M. Yoga in schizophrenia: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Objective: The objective of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of yoga as a complementary treatment on general psychopathology, positive and negative symptoms and health‐related quality of life (HRQL) for people with schizophrenia. Method: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were considered whether they investigated a yoga intervention in patients with schizophrenia. The selection of studies, data extraction and quality assessment were performed independently by two reviewers. Results: Only three RCTs met the inclusion criteria. Lower Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total scores and subscale scores for positive and negative symptoms were obtained after yoga compared with exercise or waiting list control conditions. In the same way, the physical, psychological, social and environmental HRQL as measured with the abbreviated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire (WHOQOL‐BREF) increased more significantly after yoga than after exercise or waiting list control conditions. None of the RCTS encountered adverse events. Dose–response relationships could, however, not be determined. Conclusion: Although the number of RCTs included in this review was limited, results indicated that yoga therapy can be an useful add‐on treatment to reduce general psychopathology and positive and negative symptoms. In the same way, HRQL improved in those antipsychotic‐stabilised patients with schizophrenia following yoga.

Online physical activity interventions for mental disorders: A systematic review

“…Positive effects of physical activity and exercise (a structured subset of physical activity) have been found across a broad range of mental disorders including depression (Cooney et al, 2013), anxiety (Jayakody et al, 2013), schizophrenia (Gorczynski and Faulkner, 2010;Vancampfort et al, 2012bVancampfort et al, , 2012c and bipolar disorder (Wright et al, 2009) with effect sizes (SMD) ranging from 0.46 to 1.0. Examples of successful physical activity and lifestyle interventions for people experiencing mental illness are increasing (Bruins et al, 2014;Daumit et al, 2013), with growing interest in the role of physical therapists and exercise physiologists to facilitate the delivery of such interventions (Rosenbaum et al, 2014b;Stanton, 2013;Stubbs et al, 2014).…”

Yoga and Mental Health: A Review

“…Yoga improved the quality of life of pregnant women in various studies and enhanced their interpersonal relationships [14]. Studies over the past 15 years have shown that yoga can improve psychological health during breast cancer treatment [15], as well as health-related quality of life in antipsychotic-stabilized patients [16].…”

Physical Exercise Alleviates Health Defects, Symptoms, and Biomarkers in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder

“…Falkai et al (2013) found that a 3-month period of aerobic exercise (cycling), supplemented with table football games, increased gray matter density in right frontal and occipital cortex of healthy controls but failed to produce such a change in schizophrenic patients. However, in the latter group, a walking exercise program improved the global assessment of functioning (GAF) scoring scale and suppressed negative, depressive, and cognitive dysfunctionality while improving the body mass index and reducing smoking (Vancampfort et al 2012). Nevertheless, there remains a paucity of data relative to neurobiological-neurobehavioral mechanisms and associated functional-biomarker outcomes of physical exercise in individuals presenting schizophrenia (Stanton and Happell 2014a, b;Vancampfort et al 2014).…”