Adjuvant Yoga Therapy associated with Better Outcomes in Diabetic Patients

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a leading cause of mortality worldwide. It is estimated that the prevalence might reach 134 million by the year 2045. A recent study suggests that integrated yoga therapy for individuals with diabetes leads to a significant improvement in glycemic control, insulin resistance, and key biochemical parameters. The study findings were published in the Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal on January 13, 2022.

Yoga has its roots firmly entrenched in India and evolved over the last 4,000 years as a traditional form of mind-body training. Several earlier findings indicate that yogic practices may lead to pronounced improvements in DM management. To add further value, Abu Raghavan Srinivasan and his team conducted a study and explored the possible beneficial effects of integrated yoga therapy with reference to glycemic control and insulin resistance (IR) in individuals with diabetes maintained on standard oral medical care with yoga therapy, compared to those on standard oral medical care alone.

In a randomized control study, the researchers included 35 diabetic patients in the yoga intervention group and compared them with an equal number of volunteers in the control group. At baseline, patients had hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) of more than 7% and were maintained on a diabetic diet and oral hypoglycemic agents. The researchers withdrew the blood samples before and after 120 days of integrated yoga therapy intervention. They assessed the fasting blood glucose (FBG), post-prandial blood glucose (PPBG), HbA1c, insulin, and lipid profile.

Key findings of the study:

♦ Upon analysis, the researchers found that the yoga intervention group had significant improvements in:

• Body mass index (BMI) (0.7 kg/m2 median decrease),
• FBG (20 mg/dL median decrease),
• PPBG (33 mg/dL median decrease),
• HbA1c (0.4% median decrease),
• Homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (1.2 median decrease),
• Cholesterol (13 mg/dL median decrease),
• Triacylglycerol (22 mg/dL median decrease),
• Low-density lipoprotein (6 mg/dL median decrease), and
• Very-low-density lipoprotein levels (4 mg/dL median decrease).

♦ They noted that when compared to changes observed in patients in the control group, all these improvements proved to be significant.

♦ However, increases in high-density lipoprotein after 120 days were not significant (6 mg/dL median increase).

The authors concluded, "The results of the present study are encouraging, and it is concluded that integrated yoga therapy as adjuvant and non-invasive therapy is ideal for people with diabetes. The integrated yoga therapy protocol developed at our institute with a mild set of asanas and pranayama techniques could be practiced easily and could have beneficial effects in individuals with diabetes."

For further information:

DOI: 10.5041/RMMJ.10462