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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Anxiety and Stress Disorders
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1437902

Effects of yoga on stress in stressed adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
Alina Schleinzer Alina Schleinzer 1,2*Alina Moosburner Alina Moosburner 1,2Dennis Anheyer Dennis Anheyer 1,2,3Laura Burgahn Laura Burgahn 1,2Holger Cramer Holger Cramer 1,2
  • 1 University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
  • 2 Robert Bosch Center for Integrative Medicine and Health, Bosch Health Campus, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
  • 3 Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: With the increasing prevalence of stress, stress reduction is getting more and more important. Yoga is being considered as a non-pharmacological treatment option for stress.Objective: Investigation of the effects of yoga on stress in stressed adults from the general population.Methods: Databases were searched up to March 17, 2023 (updated search on May 17, 2024).Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of yoga for stressed adults were included if they assessed perceived stress. Further outcomes were quality of life and stress-related physiological measures. Standardised mean differences (SMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Cochrane tool, and the quality of the evidence for each outcome was graded according to the GRADE recommendations.Results: A total of 13 RCTs with 1026 participants were included in the qualitative analysis and nine RCTs in the quantitative analysis. The meta-analyses revealed low quality of evidence for short-term effects of yoga on stress compared to passive control groups (SMD=-0.69, 95%CI=-1.12--0.25) and low quality of evidence for long-term effects on stress in favour of active control groups (SMD=0.23, 95%CI=0.06-0.40). There was moderate quality of evidence for short-term effects of yoga on quality of life compared to passive control groups (SMD=0.86, 95%CI=0.72-1.00). No adverse events occurred in the three safety reporting studies.Conclusions: As there is low quality of evidence for short-term effects of yoga on perceived stress in stressed adults from the general population compared to passive control groups, yoga can be considered as a non-pharmacological treatment option for stress reduction.

    Keywords: stress, Yoga, Complementary medicine, Meta-analaysis, Systematic review

    Received: 24 May 2024; Accepted: 08 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Schleinzer, Moosburner, Anheyer, Burgahn and Cramer. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Alina Schleinzer, University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.