Table 1.
Studies on Yoga and Immunity
| Author/Year | Sample size | Participant characteristics | Location/ Setting of study | Study design | Intervention | Results | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agnihotri et al., 2014 [40] | 276 | patients of mild to moderate asthma (FEV 1 > 60%) aged between 12 to 60 years | Department of Pulmonary Medicine, King George’s Medical University, U.P., Lucknow, India | Randomized controlled trial | 6-week yoga intervention (30 minutes/day, 5 days/week of asana and pranayama) | Decreased eosinophil and neutrophil counts among patients with asthma in yoga group | Asana and pranayama help to improve hemoglobin counts and to decrease bronchial inflammation |
| Chen et al., 2017 [50] | 94 | 94 healthy pregnant women at 16 weeks’ gestation | a prenatal clinic in Taipei | longitudinal, prospective, randomized controlled trial | 20-week yoga intervention (60 minutes/day, twice a week of asana and pranayama) | Significantly lower cortisol levels; high IgA; improvement in CD3+ and CD4+ cell counts in yoga group | Asana and pranayama bolster immune response by reducing cortisol levels and increasing IgA and CD3/4+ counts |
| Naoroibam et al., 2016 [45] | 44 | HIV-1 infected individuals | Two HIV rehabilitation centers of Manipur State of India | A randomized controlled pilot study | 1-month yoga intervention (60 minutes/day, 6 days/week of asana and pranayama) | Significantly higher CD4+ cell counts in yoga group | Asana and pranayama improve immunity in HIV-1–infected adults |
| Kuloor et al., 2019 [53] | 60 | HIV-positive (aged 30-50 years) | Rehabilitation centres across Bangalore | A randomized controlled study | 8-week yoga intervention (60 minutes/day, 5 days/week of asana and pranayama) | Significantly lower rates of anxiety, stress, and depression in yoga group | Asana and pranayama help lower stress, anxiety, and depression levels of HIV-positive patients |
| Yadav et al., 2012 [55] | 86 | Patients with chronic inflammatory diseases and overweight/obese subjects | Integral Health Clinic, Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. | Preliminary results from a nonrandomized prospective ongoing study with pre-post design. | 10-day yoga intervention (asana and pranayama) | Decreased levels of cortisol, IL-6, and TNF-α; increased β-endorphin levels | Asana and pranayama reduce inflammation and stress levels over a short span of intervention |
| Rao et al., 2008 [39] | 98 | Recently diagnosed stage II and III breast cancer patients | Comprehensive cancer care center in Bangalore, India | Randomized controlled trial | 1-month yoga intervention (pranayama) | Increased CD56+ cell counts in yoga group | Pranayama bolsters innate immunity after surgery |
IgA denotes immunoglobulin A, IL interleukin, TNF tumor necrosis factor