Research: LANCTÔT and COLLEAGUES,

Listed in Issue 254

Abstract

LANCTÔT and COLLEAGUES, Dept of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, CP 8888 Succarsale Centre-Ville, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3C 3P8 had an objective to evaluate the effects of a yoga intervention in reducing depression and anxiety symptoms in breast cancer (BC) patients.

Background

Several cognitive behavioural interventions have been reported to reduce psychological symptoms in breast cancer (BC) patients. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of a yoga intervention in reducing depression and anxiety symptoms in BC patients.

Methodology

This study was a randomized, partially blinded, controlled trial comparing a standardized yoga intervention to standard care. It was conducted at three medical centres in Montreal, Canada. Eligible patients were women diagnosed with stage I-III BC receiving chemotherapy. Participants were randomly assigned to receive yoga intervention immediately (experimental group, n=58) or after a waiting period (n=43 control group). The Bali Yoga Program for Breast Cancer Patients (BYP-BC) consisted of 23 gentle Hatha asanas (poses), 2 prayanamas (breathing techniques), shavasanas (relaxation corpse poses) and psychoeducational themes. Participants attended eight weekly sessions lasting 90 min each and received a DVD for home practice with 20- and 40-min sessions. Participants in the wait list control group received standard care during the 8-week waiting period. Results A total of 101 participants took part in the final intention-to-treat analyses.

Results

The repeated measures analyses demonstrated that depression symptoms increased in the control group (p=0.007), while no change was reported in the BYP-BC group (p=0.29). Also, depression symptoms decreased in the WL control group after receiving the BYP-BC intervention (p=0.03). Finally, there was no statistical significance in terms of anxiety symptoms (p=0.10).

Conclusion

Results support the BYP-BC intervention as a beneficial means of reducing and preventing the worsening of depression symptoms during chemotherapy treatment.

References

Lanctôt D, Dupuis G, Marcaurell R, Anestin AS, Bali M. The effects of the Bali Yoga Program (BYP-BC) on reducing psychological symptoms in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: results of a randomized, partially blinded, controlled trial. J Complement Integr Med. 13(4):405-412. doi: 10.1515/jcim-2015-0089. Dec 1 2016.

Comment

The above research demonstrated that Bali Yoga Program for Breast Cancer Patients (BYP-BC) was beneficial in reducing and preventing the worsening of depression symptoms in breast cancer patients during chemotherapy.

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