ArticlePrimary health care research & development2019
Evaluation of a Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) based breath intervention for patients with mild-to-moderate depression and anxiety disorders.
Article in Primary health care research & development, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Sudarshan Kriya Yoga for Canadian Veterans With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Nation-wide Effectiveness and Implementation Evaluation
Evaluate Foundational Wellness Programs to Help Reduce Clinician Burnout and Improve Professional Fulfilment in Health Care Professionals.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Complementary and integrative health interventions for PTSD in Veterans and family members: A rapid systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of military, veteran and family health · 2026Article
- Review
- Using hair biomarkers to examine social-emotional resilience in adolescence: A feasibility study.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Article
- Effects of Breathing-Relaxation Training Plus Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response on Mood and Depressive Symptoms in Patients With Mild Depression.Psychiatry investigation · 2024Article
- Effects of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) on the stress and self-esteem of medical doctors in a tertiary care hospital: a prospective analytical study.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2024Article
- Review
- Article
- Isha Yoga Practices and Participation in Samyama Program are Associated with Reduced HbA1C and Systemic Inflammation, Improved Lipid Profile, and Short-Term and Sustained Improvement in Mental Health: A Prospective Observational Study of Meditators.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Article
- Promoting Mental Health and Psychological Thriving in University Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Three Well-Being Interventions.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimResearch identifies a need for expanded therapeutic options for people with mild-to-moderate depression and anxiety disorders treated within the UK National Health Service (NHS). We aimed to examine potential benefits of a Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) based breath intervention delivered in this context.
backgroundSKY is a structured programme derived from yoga in which participants are taught relaxation and stress-management techniques including body postures, breathing exercises and cognitive-behavioural procedures. Previous research has demonstrated benefits for patients with clinical and non-clinical depression and anxiety. However, SKY has not yet been evaluated as a therapeutic option for patients accessing NHS primary care mental health services.
methodsWe evaluated an existing programme available to NHS patients in South East England. The intervention is community-based and delivered via four weekly 'stress buster sessions' (1-h duration), one weekend intensive workshop (2.5 days) and four weekly (90 min) follow-up sessions. Analyses were conducted on existing data [measures of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9) and anxiety (generalised anxiety disorder-7)] collected as part of routine care, at the start of the programme and three follow-up assessments.
findingsBaseline data were available for 991 participants, of which 557 (56.2%) attended at least three weekly workshops, 216 (21.8%) attended the weekend workshop and 169 (17.1%) completed the programme. Statistically significant (P<0.05) improvements in depression and anxiety were observed in all three outcome assessments. Clinically meaningful change was observed for 74.6% of participants completing the programme. Findings indicate that SKY has the potential to benefit patient outcomes and could be offered more widely as a therapeutic option. We recommend further research to explore patients' experiences of the programme, determine the number of sessions necessary for improvement/ recovery, define the population most likely to respond and examine potential cost savings (e.g., reductions in antidepressant prescribing/referrals to secondary care).
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.