Research Area
Yoga for depression: The research evidence
Research Title
Yoga for depression: The research evidence
Introduction
Mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and insomnia are amongst the most common reasons for individuals to seek treatment with complementary therapies. Consequently, several surveys have been conducted which focus on this area.
Davidson and colleagues carried out a study to determine the frequency of psychiatric disorders in patients receiving complementary medical care in the UK and the USA (Davidson et al., 1998). The authors found that psychiatric disorders were relatively frequent. Based on rates of lifetime psychiatric diagnoses, a total of 74% of the British patients and 60.6% of the American patients had a diagnosis. Major depression (52% of UK and 33.3% of USA) and any anxiety disorders (50% of UK and 33.3% of USA) were the commonest lifetime diagnoses. Rates of current psychiatric disorder were 46% of the UK patients and 30.3% of the USA patients. Six percent of the total suffered from major depression and 25.3% of the total met the criteria for at least one anxiety disorder.
Abstract
Yoga-based interventions may prove to be an attractive option for the treatment of depression. The aim of this study is to systematically review the research evidence on the effectiveness of yoga for this indication.
Conclusion
Overall, the initial indications are of potentially beneficial effects of yoga interventions on depressive disorders. Variation in interventions, severity and reporting of trial methodology suggests that the findings must be interpreted with caution. Several of the interventions may not be feasible in those with reduced or impaired mobility. Nevertheless, further investigation of yoga as a therapeutic intervention is warranted.
