The Effect of Yoga on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: A Meta-Analysis
Author: Ameesh Isath1, Arjun Kanwal1, Hafeez Ul Hassan Virk2, Dhrubajyoti Bandyopadhyay1, Zhen Wang3, Ashish Kumar4, Ankur Kalra5, Srihari S Naidu1, Carl J Lavie6, Salim S Virani7, Chayakrit Krittanawong8
Affiliation:
1 Department of Cardiology, Westchester Medical Centre, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY.
2 Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute, Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH.
3 Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; Division of Health Care Policy and Research, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
4 Department of Internal Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Akron General, Akron, Ohio.
5 Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Krannert Cardiovascular Research Center Indiana University School of Medicine Indianapolis IN.
6 John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute, Ochsner Clinical School, The University of Queensland School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA.
7 Section of Cardiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center Houston TX.
8 Cardiology Division, NYU Langone Health and NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: Chayakrit.Krittanawong@va.gov.
Conference/Journal: Curr Probl Cardiol
Date published: 2023 Jan 18
Other:
Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.cpcardiol.2023.101593. , Word Count: 227
Introduction:
Yoga has been increasingly popular yet has shown inconsistent benefits on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. We aimed to systematically analyze the effect of yoga on modifiable CVD risk factors.
Methods:
We systematically searched Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Ovid Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Scopus, and Web of Science from database inception in 1966 through June 2022 for studies evaluating the association between yoga and blood pressure, lipid profile, HbA1c and body mass index (BMI). Two investigators independently reviewed data. Conflicts were resolved through consensus. Random-effects meta-analyses were used.
Results:
64 RCTs including a total of 16,797 participants were eligible for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Yoga therapy improved both systolic as well as diastolic blood pressure [weight mean difference (WMD) (95% Confidence interval (CI)) of -4.56 (-6.37, -2.75) mmHg, WMD (95% CI) - 3.39 (-5.01, -1.76) mmHg respectively]. There was also an improvement in BMI as well as hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) [WMD (95% CI) of -0.57 (-1.05, -0.10) kg/m2, WMD (95% CI) of -0.14 (-0.24, -0.030) mmol/L respectively] . In addition, all parameters of the lipid profile, including low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) showed a significant improvement with yoga therapy [WMD (95% CI) -7.59 (-12.23, -2.95) mg/dL for LDL-C].
Conclusion:
Yoga has a modest yet positive effect on blood pressure, BMI, lipid profile and HbA1c and, therefore, may play an ancillary role in primary prevention of CVD.
PMID: 36681213 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpcardiol.2023.101593
BACK
