Effectiveness of yogic breathing intervention on quality of life of opioid dependent users

Abstract

Introduction:The quality of life (QOL) of substance users is known to be impaired. Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY), a yogic breathing program has potential to improve QOL and needs evaluation in an Indian setting.Aims:Study aimed to assess changes in QOL in treatment seeking male opioid dependent users following practice of SKY program.Settings and Design:Users were randomized into study (n = 55) and control group (n = 29). Study group besides standard treatment (long term pharmacotherapy with buprenorphine in flexible dosing schedule) underwent a 3 days, 12 h SKY program while control group received standard treatment alone.Materials and Methods:World Health Organization QOL-brief scale was used to measure QOL and urine tested to assess recent drug use. Assessments were made at baseline and at 3 and 6 months.Statistical Analysis:Data were analyzed using generalized estimation equation to assess within group change with time and the overall difference between groups for changes at assessment points.Results:Overtime within study group, all four QOL domain scores were significantly higher at 6 months. Between group comparison showed significant increase in physical (P < 0.05); psychological (P < 0.001) and environment domains (P < 0.001) for study group while control group showed significant changes in social relationship domain only. Urine screening results were negative for study group indicating no drug use at 6 months.Conclusion:SKY as a complementary therapy was found beneficial in improving QOL for group practicing it and is recommended for use as low cost and low-risk adjunct in substance treatment settings in India.

The Benefits of Physical Exercise on Mental Disorders and Quality of Life in Substance Use Disorders Patients. Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Of the selected studies, 34 were experimental studies with randomized sampling [4,5,8,9,11,12,15,17,18,21,25,27,29,30,46,48,49,52,54,55,[59][60][61][63][64][65][68][69][70][71][74][75][76][77], while the rest were quasi-experimental [6,7,10,13,14,16,20,22,26,28,47,50,51,53,[56][57][58]62,…”

“…Aerobic exercise was the most used type of program, finding 27 studies that used this type of exercise [4,5,7,8,[10][11][12][13]16,18,22,26,46,49,50,56,57,[59][60][61]67,[74][75][76][77][78][79]. In addition, 14 studies were found that used exercise programs related to body-mind practices, such as yoga, tai chi or qigong [9,15,21,[28][29][30]54,55,[64][65][66]70,71,73], 10 who used combined strength and aerobic exercise [6,17,20,27,32,47,48,52,68,…”

“…This review includes 10 studies that specifically analyze the influence of exercise on quality of life: five of them use yoga as an experimental treatment [15,21,55,70,71] a study uses tai chi [73], two studies apply a program of mixed exercise and aerobic exercise [6,72] and another study employs a varied exercise program [25].…”

Evaluation of Yoga for Preventing Adolescent Substance Use Risk Factors in a Middle School Setting: A Preliminary Group-Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Accordingly, a number of substance abuse treatment programs have incorporated yoga or meditation as contributing therapies, and there is some research demonstrating efficacy of such treatments for adults (Carim-Todd et al 2013; Hallgren et al 2014). In addition, a number of studies have evaluated the specific effects of yoga interventions on addictive behavior, substance use risk factors, and substance abuse itself and have found positive results for adults, such as improvements in quality of life in opioid-dependent users (Dhawan et al 2015), reduced risk of alcohol and drug use in women with posttraumatic stress disorder (Reddy et al 2014), improved global functioning and well-being in substance-dependent inpatients (Sureka et al 2014), and improved mood and quality of life in women undergoing heroin detoxification (Zhuang et al 2013). …”

Role of Yoga in Management of Substance-use Disorders: A Narrative Review

“…[ 23 ] Only one study was done in Indian population reported significant increase in physical, psychological, and environmental domains of QoL (WHO-QOL scale) in patient group who also received Sudarshan Kriya Yoga therapy in combination of standard treatment (buprenorphine) as compared to standard treatment alone. [ 24 ]…”