title: The effects of the Bali Yoga Program (BYP-BC) on reducing psychological symptoms in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: results of a randomized, partially blinded, controlled trial.
abstract: Background Several cognitive behavioral interventions have been reported to reduce psychological symptoms in breast cancer (BC) patients. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of a yoga intervention in reducing depression and anxiety symptoms in BC patients. Methods This study was a randomized, partially blinded, controlled trial comparing a standardized yoga intervention to standard care. It was conducted at three medical centers in Montreal, Canada. Eligible patients were women diagnosed with stage I-III BC receiving chemotherapy. Participants were randomly assigned to receive yoga intervention immediately (experimental group, n=58) or after a waiting period (n=43 control group). The Bali Yoga Program for Breast Cancer Patients (BYP-BC) consisted of 23 gentle Hatha asanas (poses), 2 prayanamas (breathing techniques), shavasanas (relaxation corpse poses) and psychoeducational themes. Participants attended eight weekly sessions lasting 90 min each and received a DVD for home practice with 20- and 40-min sessions. Participants in the wait list control group received standard care during the 8-week waiting period. Results A total of 101 participants took part in the final intention-to-treat analyses. The repeated measures analyses demonstrated that depression symptoms increased in the control group (p=0.007), while no change was reported in the BYP-BC group (p=0.29). Also, depression symptoms decreased in the WL control group after receiving the BYP-BC intervention (p=0.03). Finally, there was no statistical significance in terms of anxiety symptoms (p=0.10). Conclusions Results support the BYP-BC intervention as a beneficial means of reducing and preventing the worsening of depression symptoms during chemotherapy treatment.
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lanctôt
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dupuis
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Marcaurell
authors.forename: Annélie S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Anestin
authors.forename: Madan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bali
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000628:therapy; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D001945:Breathing Exercises; D003863:Depression / Q000628:therapy*; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019122:Meditation; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011792:Quebec; D015013:Yoga