TABLE 1.

Studies of Mind-body Interventions in Patients with PTSD

Author Year Study Site	Study Design	Mean age (SD) Gender (%)	Intervention Time Frame Sample Size	PTSD Outcomes, Magnitude of Symptom Change
Descilo et al.7 2010 U.S.	NRS	Adult	Yoga breathing	60% decrease in PTSD symptom severity at weeks 6, 24
		30.8	5 weeks
		Female (85)	N = 183	ΔPCL-17 = -42.5
Staples et al.8 2011 Gaza	NRS	Age	Mind-body skills	Significant effect of time for PTSD subscales.
		13.3	5 weeks
		Female (37)	N = 129	ΔCPSS = 16.8
Telles et al.26 2010 India	RCT	Adult	Yoga	No significant changes in the HRV.
		31.5 (7.5)	1 week, 60 min daily
		Male (100)	N = 22	ΔpNN50 = 7.83
Stankovic L.27 2011 U.S.	NRS	Adult	Meditation (iRest)	Subjective rating of permanence of positive symptom changes = 3.27 out of 1 (temporary) to 5 (permanent).
		61	8 weeks, 40-min weekly
		Not specified
			N = 16
Watson et al.24 1997 U.S.	RCT	Adult	Relaxation, breathing, biofeedback	Moderate effect of relaxation, but not breathing and/or biofeedback in PTSD treatment.
		45.6
		Male (100)	10 sessions
			N = 90	ΔPTSD-I = -0.4
Branstrom et al.25 2011 Sweden	RCT	Adult	MBSR	No significant changes in overall PTSD symptoms but avoidance.
		51.8 (9.86)	8 sessions, 2-h weekly
		Female (99)	N = 71	ΔIES = -6.42 at 6-month follow-up
Bormann et al.9 2011 US	RCT	Adult	Mantram	Significant PTSD symptom reduction.
		56.1 (9.60)	6 sessions, 90-min weekly
		Male (97)	N = 136	ΔPCL-C = -6.3
Catani et al.10 2009 Sri Lanka	RCT	Children	Meditation-relaxation	Significant PTSD symptom reduction
		11.95	2 weeks, 6 sessions
		Male (54.8)	N = 31	ΔUPID = -23.99 at wk2
Gordon et al.11 2004 Kosovo	NRS	Adolescents	Mind-body skills	Significant PTSD symptom reduction at posttest.
	Pilot	16-19 (88%)	6 weeks
		Male (54)	N = 139	ΔPTSD-RI = -2.2
Gordon et al.12 2008 Kosovo	RCT	Adolescents	Mind-body skills	Significant decrease in PTSD symptom severity.
		16.3	6 weeks, twice weekly
		Female (62)	N = 82	ΔHTQ = -0.5, -0.4 at wks 6, 12
Grodin et al.13 2008 U.S.	OBS Case study	Adult (Foreign patients)	Taichi and Qigong >1 year	Decreased re-experiencing, flashbacks, anxiety, and stress Increased equanimity Improved pain Soothing effect.
		Age = 23, 30, 44, 47	N = 4
		Male (75)
Waelde et al.14 2004 U.S.	NRS	Adult	Meditation	Significant decrease in PTSD symptom and stress coping.
		49 (11)	8 weeks, daily 30 min
		Female (85)	N = 20	ΔPCL-S = -6.03
Brooks and Scarano28 1985 U.S.	RT	Adults	Meditation	Significant decrease in symptoms of post-Vietnam stress disorder the intervention group.
		33.3	3 months
		Male (100)	N = 18
				ΔPVSD = -3.90
Kimbrough et al.15 2010 U.S.	NRS	Adult	MBSR	PTSD symptom severity improved by 31% after 8-week MBSR.
		45 (10.8)	8 weeks
		Female (89)	N = 27	ΔPCL-C = -14.5
Rosenthal etal.16 2011 U.S.	NRS	Adult	Meditation	Significant improvement in PTSD symptom severity. ΔCAPS = -31.4
		41.5 (16.6)	8 weeks, 20 minutes, twice a day
		Male (100)		ΔPCL-M = -24.00
			N=5
Kearney et al.17 2012 U.S.	NRS	Adult	MBSR	Significant improvement in PTSD symptom severity.
		51(10.6)	8 weeks
		Male (75)	N = 92	ΔPCL-C = -9

Data are shown as mean (SD) for quantitative variables and mean (%) for gender.

Abbreviations: NRS, prospective nonrandomized studies; RCT, randomized controlled trial; OBS, observational non-controlled study; RT, randomized-noncontrolled trial; MBSR, mindfulness-based stress reduction; PCL-C, PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version; CPSS, Child PTSD Symptom Scale; HRV, heart rate variability; pNN50, the percentage of successive normal cardiac interbeat intervals greater than 50 msec; IES, Impact of Event Scale; UPID, UCLA PTSD Index for DSM-IV; PTSD-RI, PTSD Reaction Index; HTQ, Harvard Trauma Questionnaire; PCL-S, PTSD Checklist-Specific Version; PVSD, Post-Vietnam Stress Disorder; CAPS, the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale; PCL-M, PTSD Checklist-Military Version.