Raghavendra 2007.
Methods | Randomised controlled trial | |
Participants | Women with diagnosed stage II‐III operable breast cancer undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy during the study period Recruited from the Bangalore Institute of Oncology Mean age not reported N = 98 |
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Interventions | • Integrated yoga programme (yoga postures, breathing techniques, relaxation with imagery, chanting), programme length not reported, 30 minutes 4 times, 60 minutes every 10 days • Brief supportive therapy, programme length not reported, 60 minutes once, 30 minutes every 10 days |
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Outcomes | Health‐related quality of life (Functional Living Index ‐ Cancer) Depression (Beck Depression Inventory) Anxiety (Speilberger State/Trait Anxiety Inventory) |
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Notes | Subgroup analyses were published separately. Time frame of outcome assessment was not reported. |
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Risk of bias | ||
Bias | Authors' judgement | Support for judgement |
Random sequence generation (selection bias) | Low risk | "Subjects [...] were randomly allocated to receive either one of these interventions prior to their primary treatment or surgery, using random numbers generated by a random number table." |
Allocation concealment (selection bias) | Low risk | "Randomization was performed using opaque envelopes with group assignments. The envelopes were opened sequentially in the order of assignment during recruitment, with the names and registration numbers of the participants written on the covers. The order of randomization was verified with the hospital date of admission records for surgery at study intervals to make sure that field personnel had not altered the sequence of randomization to suit the allocation of consenting participants into two study arms." |
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes | Unclear risk | No information on blinding |
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes | Unclear risk | No information on blinding |
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes | High risk | 43% dropout in the yoga group and 30% dropout in the control group |
Selective reporting (reporting bias) | Low risk | No protocol available but no hint of selective reporting |
Other bias | High risk | Time frame of outcome assessment was not reported. Participants were excluded if they did not receive their prescribed chemotherapy cycles. The number of randomised participants in each group was not reported. |