Table 1.
Characteristics of the included studies.
| Study | Patients (N, diagnosis, age) | Co-intervention (drug or psychotherapy) | Intervention | Outcomes | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treatment | Control | |||||
| P.J. Naga Venkatesha Murthy, India (2000) | 45 subjects with depression based on DSM-IV criteria, scored 17 or more on the total HSRD-17. Yoga: 36.0 (7.8) years Males/Females: 9/6 ECT: 36.7 (2.5) years Males/Females: 6/9 IMN: 43.4 (11.9) years Males/Females:10/5 | No | Sudarshan Kriya Yoga Imipramine (IMN) | Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) | 1. BDI 2. HRSD (wk 0, 4) |
Significant reductions in the total scores on Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) occurred on successive occasions in all three groups. |
| S. DAS, S. MONDAL, New Delhi (2005) | 30 patients suffering from Major depression with DSM-IV criteria. Yoga: 31.87 ± 8.78 years Control: 31.67 ± 8.46 years Males/Females: 19/11 | Yes | Sahaj Yoga plus Conventional antidepressant medication | Conventional antidepressant treatment plus simple position and eyes closed | 1. HAM-D 2. Neuro-cognitive test battery consisting of Letter cancelation test (LCT) 3. HAMA |
Table II demonstrates percentage reduction in HAM-D scores at 8 weeks was significantly more in Group 1 patients than in Group 2 patients (p = 0.003). |
| A. Vedamurthachar, Bangalore, India (2006) | 60 patients All males mean age: 39.7 ± 5.8 years | Not mention | Sudarshana Kriya Yoga (SKY) | Not | 1. BDI | Both groups reductions in BDI scores occurred but significantly more so in the SKY group. |
| Uddip Talukdar, India (2011) | 30 patients, mean age 35 years M/F: 9/21 | Not mention | Himalayan Yoga counseling | General | 1. BDI 2. BAI 3. CGI-S, CGII, GAF |
Changes were more significant in pre- and post-assessment of the experimental group. |
| Miguel Diego, USA (2012) | 84 patients all females mean age: 26.6 years | Not mention | Yoga therapy | Massage | 1. CES-D 2. STAI 3. STAIX |
A greater decrease on depression, anxiety, and back and leg pain scales and a greater increase on a relationship scale. |
| Khushbu Rani, SC Tiwari, India (2012) | 126 patients Yoga (65): 27.67 ± 7.85 years, Control (61): 26.58 ± 6.87 years | Yes | Yoga Nidra therapy Plus pharmacotherapy | Only pharmacotherapy | 1. HAMD 2. HAMA |
No significant improvement in the patients with severe anxiety and depressive symptoms. |
| Miguel Diego, PhD, USA (2013) | 92 pregnant women patients diagnosed with SCID. mean age: 24.9 ± 5.2 years | Not mention | Yoga support | Social support | 1. CES-D 2. STAI 3. STAIX 4. Relationship |
They both had lower depression (CES-D), anxiety (STAI), and anger (STAXI) scores and improved relationship scores. |
| Miguel Diego, US (2013) | 92 pregnant women patients diagnosed with SCID. Mean age: 26.6 ± 5.5 years | Not mention | Yoga/Tai chi | Waitlist control | 1. SCID 2. CES-D 3. STAI |
The tai chi/yoga group had lower summary depression (CES-D) scores, as well as lower negative affect and somatic/vegetative symptoms subscale scores on the CES-D, lower anxiety (STAI) scores and lower sleep disturbances scores |
| Cheryl Bourguignon, PhD, Charlottesville, VA, USA (2013) | 27 MDD women with a current major depressive episode or dysthymia using the MINI-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) Yoga (15): 40.93 ± 15.84 years Control (12): 46.17 ± 15.40 years | Not mention | Yoga | Attention-control group | 1. PHQ-9 2. STAI 3. PSS 4. RRS |
There was a decrease in depression over time in both the yoga group and the attention control group |
| Patricia Anne Kinser, PhD, Richmond, USA (2014) | 27 MDD women diagnosed with MINI. Yoga: 40.9 ± 15.8 years Control: 46.2 ± 15.40 years | Not mention | Hatha yoga | Health-education (HE) | 1. PHQ-9| 2. PSS-10 3. STAI 4. RRS 5. SF-12 |
Whether or not an individual continues with yoga practice, simple exposure to a yoga intervention appears to provide sustained benefits to the individual |
| Caroline Nothdurfter, Germany (2014) | 60 inpatients suffering from MDD according to DSM-IV M/F: 38/15 | Yes | QXR (300 mg/day) therapy or ESC (10 mg/day) | Hatha yoga | 1. HAMD | Antidepressant agents down regulate HPA axis function to a greater extent than additional Hatha yoga treatment. |
| Beth A. Lewis, USA (2016) | 40 women who met the criteria for depression based on (SCID-I), Yoga: 45.55 (12.30) years Control: 39.8 (11.23) years | Not mention | Yoga | Walking control condition | 1. BDI 2. RRS |
Both groups reported decreases in depressive symptoms from baseline to post-intervention. |
| Renee Rivera, San Francisco (2017) | 38 patients with MDD, 68% Female mean age: 43.4 ± 14.8 years | Not mention | Hatha yoga | Attention control education groups | 1. BDI 2. GSES/RSES |
Yoga participants exhibited significantly greater 8 week decline in BDI scores than control groups. |
| Marna S. Barrett, PhD, Philadelphia, USA (2017) | 25 Patients with MDD met the criteria on DSM-IV-TR Yoga (13): 39.4 (13.9) years Control (12): 34.8 (13.6) years M/F: 7/18 | Not mention | Sudarshana Kriya yoga | Waitlist controlled | 1. HDRS-17 2. BDI 3. BAI |
The SKY arm (n = 13) showed a greater improvement in HDRS-17 total score compared to waitlist control |
| Chris C. Streeter, Boston, USA (2017) | 30 patients with MDD HRSD scores>17 HDG: Mage: 38.4 ± 15.1 years LDG: Mage: 34.7 ± 10.4 years M/F: 5/25 | Not mention | High dose group | Low dose group | 1. BDI-II | Depressive symptoms declined significantly in patients with MDD in both the HDG and LDG. Both groups showed comparable compliance and clinical improvements, with more subjects in the HDG exhibiting BDI-II scores 10 at week 12. |
| Lisa A. Uebelacker, Ph.D. Providence, RI, USA (2017) | 122 subjects met criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD) within the prior 2 years assessed via the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. Yoga: mean age 46.78 HLW: mean age 46.2 | Not mention | Yoga group | Healthy living workshop | 1. QIDS 2. PHQ-9 |
1. Not find a statistically significant difference between groups in depression symptoms. 2. Fifty-one percent of Yoga participants demonstrated a response (50% reduction in depression symptoms) |
| Patricia L. Gerbarg, NY, US (2018) | 32 Patients diagnosis of MDD using DSM-IV criteria LDG: 34.7 ± 10.4 years HDG: 38.4 ± 15.1 years M/F: 5/25 | Not mention | High dose group | Low dose group | 1. BDI-II 2. The C-SSRS item 1 |
At screening, SI without intent was endorsed on the BDI-II by 9 participants; after completing the intervention, 8 out of 9 reported resolution of SI. |
| Madhuri R. Tolahunas, India (2018) | 178 Patients with MDD according to DSM-V Yoga (89): 38 ± 9 years Drug (89): 40 ± 8 years M/F: 93/85 | No | Yoga-based intervention | Drug group lifestyle | 1. BDI-II | YBLI provides MDD remission in those who have susceptible 5-HTTLPR and MTHFR 677C > T polymorphisms and are resistant to SSRIs treatment. YBLI may be therapeutic for MDD independent of heterogeneity in its etiopathogenesis. |
| Madhuri R. Tolahunas, India (2018) | 58 MDD patients diagnosed with DSM-V criteria. Yoga: 36.94 (8.94) years Control: 39.10 (9.26) years M/F: 27/31 | No | YMLI program plus routine drug treatment | Only routine drug treatment | 1. BDI-II | These results suggest that a decrease in depression severity after YMLI in MDD is associated with improved systemic biomarkers of neuroplasticity. |
| Jolene Mui, Hongkong (2019) | 32 participants diagnosed with current MDD (scores between 14 and 28 on BDI) HDG (15): 38.4 ± 15.1 years LDG (15): 34.7 ± 10.4 years M/F: 5/25 | No | Laughter group | Treatment as usual | 1. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS–21) 2. CSQ-8 |
The LY group had statistically greater decreases in depression and improvements in mental health related quality of life compared to the control group from T0 to T1. The CSQ-8 scores indicated a favorable level of satisfaction with the LY intervention. |
| TAMMY M. SCOTT, PhD, Boston (2019) | Patients diagnosed with current MDD BDI-II scores between 14 (mild depression) and 28 (severe depression) LDG (15): 34.67 ± 10.38 years HDG (15): 39.62 ± 15.61 years Female (%) 80.0/84.6 (LDG/HDG) | Not mention | High dose group | Low dose group | 1. Positivity Self-Test (PST) 2. STAI 3. Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) |
Significant improvements in all outcome measures were found for both groups, with acute and cumulative benefits. |
| Chris C. Streeter, MD, Boston (2020) | 171 females met a primary diagnosis of MDD based on DSM-IV mean age 25.08 (4.64) years | Not mention | High dose group | Low dose group | 1. BDI-II 2. Thalamic GABA levels |
BDI-II scores improved significantly in both groups. GABA levels from Scan-1 to Scan-3 and from Scan2 to Scan-3 were significantly increased in the LDG (n = 15) and showed a trend in the total cohort. |
| Praerna H. Bhargav, India (2021) | 83 patients YG: mean age 48.38 (10.21) years TAU: mean age 51.31 (9.19) years M/F: 66/17 | Not mention | Yoga group | Waitlist group | 1.HDRS-17 | Clinically both groups improved significantly over time with more improvement and higher remission rate in YG (62.8%) than WG (45.7%). |
| Miriam Bieber, Germany (2021) | 68 subjects scoring ≥18 on 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) mean age: 31.58 ± 8.79 years M/F: 28/40 | Yes | Ashtanga-Yoga | Waiting-list control group: TAU | 1. BDI-II MADRS 2. Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) |
Remission rates indicated a significant improvement in the yoga group (BDI-II: 46.81%, MADRS: 17.02%) compared to the control group (BDI: 33.33%, MADRS: 8.33%). |
| Kankan Gulati NIMHANS, India (2021) | 87 patients met criteria for MDD via DSM-IV SCID mean age: 45.20 (12.72) years female (84%) | Not mention | Yoga | Waitlist group | 1. HDRS-17 2. HRV variable |
Findings suggest Yoga therapy may help in bringing parasympathetic dominance in patients with MDD. |
| Nicole R. Nugent, Rhode Island Hospital, USA (2021) | 72 patients met DSM-IV criteria for major depression Receiving Yoga First: 39.36 (11.69) years Receiving Psychoeducation First: 40.58 (12.72) years M/F: 15/57 | Not mention | Hatha yoga | Health-education (HE) control group | 1. QIDS 2. IL-6 and TNF-α levels | We observed a significant reduction in IL-6 concentrations in the yoga treatment group relative to the health education control group, as demonstrated by a negative interaction between treatment group and slope of IL-6. |
| Arun V. Ravindran, Toronto (2021) | 81 patients diagnosed MDD based on ICD-10 Intervention (29): 30.48 (10.22) years Control (52): 33.61 (8.97) years M/F: 39/42 | Yes | Yoga (8 weeks) Psychoeducation (8-16 weeks) | Psychoeducation (8 weeks) follow. Yoga (8–16 weeks) | 1. MADRS (primary) 2. HAMD, CGI, BDI, QLESQ, PSS (Secondary) |
1. There was a significant decline in depressive symptoms, as measured by the MADRS, following 8 weeks of yoga. 2. There was no significant difference in MADRS ratings between intervention groups. |
| Ananya Srivastava, India (2021) | 22 subjects scoring ≥18 on HAMD without details about mean ages of subjects | Yes | Psychotropic medications plus Kriya yoga | Only psychotropic medications | 1. HDRS-17 | HDRS scores of the intervention group (n = 29) were found to be significantly lesser than that of the control group (n = 52) by the end of 2, 4, and 8 weeks. |
| Subbanna, Manjula, India (2021) | 110 subjects met criteria for MDD by DSM-IV mean age of 47.2 (11.8) years female (86%) | Yes | Yoga therapy (YT) | Waitlist control | 1. HAMD 2. MADRS 3. CGI |
Yoga therapy down regulating the plasma levels of C1q, Factor H, and properdin seem quite interesting. |
| Jessica L. West, Duke University Medical Center (2021) | 32 participants diagnosed with current MDD, scores on BDI-II between 14 and 28 HDG (15): 38.4 ± 15.1 years LDG (15): 34.7 ± 10.4 years M/F: 5/25 | Not mention | Yoga | HLW classes | 1. QIDS 2. FFMQ 3. RSQ |
A small effect of yoga on components of mindfulness during a 10 week intervention period. |
| Lin Yi-huan, Wang Jun-qing, China (2010) | 60 subjects scoring ≥24 on HAMD, Intervention (30):26.353 (4.62) years, M/F:9/21;Controls (30):28.08 (6.23) years, M/F:11/19 | Yes | Yoga and psychotropic medications | Psychotropic medications | 1. HAMD | There was significant difference in HAMD scores between intervention groups and control groups |
| Wang Wenjuan, Pan Qin, Zhang Huimin, China (2020) | 41 subjects scoring ≥35 on HAMD, All Females | Not mention | Yoga | Treatment as usual | 1. HAMD GSES | There was significant difference in HAMD and GSES scores between intervention groups and control groups |
| Liang Jinmei, Kang Xingxing, Ji Wei, China (2017) | 92 subjects scoring ≥24 on HAMD, Intervention (44):37.1 (4.6) years, M/F:19/25;Controls (44):29.0 (4.9) years, M/F:20/24 | Yes | Yoga and psychotropic medications as usual | Psychotropic medications as usual | 1. HAMD | There was significant difference in HAMD scores between intervention groups and control groups |
| Li Li, Gao Lin, China (2019) | 100 subjects scoring ≥17 on EPDS, intervention (50):26.71 (5.38) years, controls (50):26.21 (6.31) years, all females | Not mention | Yoga and psychotherapy | Routine perinatal care and psychotherapy | 1. EPDS SAS | There was significant difference in EPDS and SAS scores between intervention groups and control groups |