Author: Meagan O'Neill1,2, Dominic Samaroo2, Christian Lopez1,2, George Tomlinson1,2, Daniel Santa Mina1,2, Catherine Sabiston1, Nicole Culos-Reed3, Shabbir M H Alibhai1,2
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
<sup>2</sup> University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.
<sup>3</sup> University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Conference/Journal: Integr Cancer Ther
Date published: Jan-Dec 2020
Other:
Volume ID: 19 , Pages: 1534735420959882 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1177/1534735420959882. , Word Count: 259
Background:
Women with breast cancer (BC) are living longer with debilitating side effects such as cancer-related fatigue (CRF) that affect overall well-being. Yoga promotes health, well-being and may be beneficial in reducing CRF. Although there have been previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses, the effects of yoga on CRF and quality of life (QOL) remain unclear, particularly in comparison with other types of physical activity (PA). Our objective is to carry out a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of yoga on CRF and QOL in women with BC.
Methods:
Electronic databases were searched (MEDLINE, Embase Classic+Embase and EMB Reviews, Cochrane Central CT) from inception to May 2018. Randomized controlled trials were included if they were full text, in English, included a yoga intervention, a comparator (including non-PA usual care or alternate PA intervention), and reported on CRF or QOL. Effects of yoga were pooled using standardized mean difference (SMD) via a random effects model.
Results:
Of the 2468 records retrieved, 24 trials were included; 18 studies compared yoga to a non-PA comparator and 6 to a PA comparator. Yoga demonstrated statistically significant improvements in CRF over non-PA (SMD -0.30 [-0.51; -0.08]) but not PA (SMD -0.17 [-0.50; 0.17]) comparators. Additionally, yoga demonstrated statistically significant improvements in QOL over non-PA (SMD -0.27 [-0.46; -0.07]) but not PA (SMD 0.04 [-0.22; +0.31]) comparators.
Discussion:
This meta-analysis found that yoga provides small to medium improvements in CRF and QOL compared to non-PA, but not in comparison to other PA interventions.
Keywords: breast cancer; cancer-related fatigue; meta-analysis; physical activity; quality of life; systematic review; yoga.
PMID: 33073636 PMCID: PMC7580184 DOI: 10.1177/1534735420959882