ArticleJournal of Ayurveda and integrative medicine
Efficacy of pranayama in preventing COVID-19 in exposed healthcare professionals: A quasi-randomized clinical trial.
Article in Journal of Ayurveda and integrative medicine. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Status of evidence on efficacy and safety of Indian traditional medicine (Ayush) for COVID-19: a qualitative review and evidence map synthesis.Systematic reviews · 2026Review
- A collaborative study on rehabilitating altered pulmonary functions of COVID-19 survivors with selective yoga regime.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025Article
- Association between Usage of Prophylactic AYUSH Medicines and Disease Severity in COVID-19 Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Homeopathy : the journal of the Faculty of Homeopathy · 2024Article
- Clinical trial research agenda on COVID-19 - the first two years in Germany and beyond.Zeitschrift fur Evidenz, Fortbildung und Qualitat im Gesundheitswesen · 2022Review
- Significance of AYUSH: India's first line of defence against COVID-19.Journal of Ayurveda and integrative medicineArticle
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe global outbreak of COVID-19 has created a challenging situation, especially for the frontline Health Care Professionals (HCPs), who are routinely exposed and thus are at a higher risk of infection. Pranayama, a component of Yoga, is known to improve immune function and reduce infection. However, no clinical trial on the efficacy of Pranayama in preventing COVID-19 has yet been conducted. AIM AND
objectiveThis quasi-randomized clinical trial assessed the efficacy of Pranayama in preventing COVID-19 infection in HCPs routinely exposed to COVID-19. METHODOLOGY: The study was conducted at 5 different COVID-19 hospitals, India in year 2020. The inclusion criteria were being an HCP exposed to COVID-19 patients and being negative on antibody tests. 280 HCPs were recruited sequential and assigned to intervention and control groups. Of these, 250 HCPs completed the study. The intervention was twice daily practice, for 28 days, of specially designed Pranayama modules under the online supervision of Yoga instructors. The HCPs in the control group were advised to continue their normal daily routine, but no pranayama sessions. Participants who developed symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 were subjected to Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) or Point of Care Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) for confirmation of the diagnosis. All the participants were tested for antibodies to COVID-19 on 28th day of the intervention to detect any asymptomatic infection.
resultsThe intervention (123) and control (127) groups had comparable demographics and baseline characteristics. At end of 28 days of intervention, nine participants in the control group and one in the intervention group developed COVID-19 (P-value: 0.01, Odds Ratio: 0.107, 95% CI: 0.86; Risk Ratio: 0.11, 95% CI: 0.89).
conclusionThe intervention of twice daily practice of the Pranayama module for 28 days in HCPs might have made a noteworthy contribution and may have helped in preventing COVID-19 infection.
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