Psychiatria Danubina, Vol. 34 No. 2, 2022.
Review article
https://doi.org/10.24869/psyd.2022.195
YOGA’S THERAPEUTIC EFFECT ON PERINATAL DEPRESSION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS
Guanyu Wang
; Key Laboratory of Environmental Medical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Ce Liang
orcid.org/0000-0002-6789-1501
; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, London, UK
Guiju Sun
orcid.org/0000-0001-5969-2185
; Key Laboratory of Environmental Medical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Abstract
Introduction: In recent years, the incidence of perinatal depression in female population is very high. Perinatal depression has
adverse effects on the physical and mental health of mothers and children. However, according to current researches, Yoga has been
considered as an effective exercise that can help pregnant women to regulate their emotions. Thus, this review reports the
effectiveness of yoga on perinatal depression.
Methods: We reviewed all of the relevant RCT (Randomized Control Trial, RCT) studies published until June 2021 from the
major open-access databases.
Results: 12 RCTs were selected and included in this study, and the total number of people included in the analysis in the
combined study was 594. The level of depression and anxiety of participants was evaluated using detailed and recognized scale.
Compared with the control group, the yoga intervention group indicates a statistically significant decrease in depression levels
(SMD (Standardised Mean Difference, SMD), -2.31; 95% CI, -3.67 to -0.96; P=0.139) and anxiety (SMD, -4.75; 95% CI, -8.3 to -1.19;
P=0.002). In addition, we also conducted a subgroup analysis according to the type of population. The subgroup analysis
successfully reduced the level of heterogeneity and the results indicated that the difference in population types in the combined
analysis leads to the higher heterogeneity. The SMD value for healthy women is -2.3 (95% CI, -4.83 to 0.23) and for depressed
women is -9.02 (95% CI, -11.42 to -6.62). Finally, the meta-analysis results of the self-control group prove that yoga can reduce the
depression scores (SMD, 5.23; 95% CI, 1.90 to 8.56; P=0.049) compared with baseline.
Conclusions: Yoga can effectively relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety in the perinatal period, which can be used as an
auxiliary treatment option clinically.
Keywords
perinatal depression; yoga; systematic review; meta-analysis
Hrčak ID:
280007
URI
Publication date:
5.7.2022.
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