Date of Award

2016

Degree Type

Selective Evidence-Based Medicine Review

Degree Name

Master of Science in Health Sciences - Physician Assistant

Department

Physician Assistant Studies

Department Chair

John Cavenagh, MBA, PhD, PA-C

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not yoga decreases self-report of antenatal depression among healthy pregnant women aged 18-40 years old in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters.

Study Design: Review of three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in peer reviewed journals in 2013 and one RCT published in a peer reviewed journal in 2012 were used.

Data Source: Data sources included articles published in English in peer reviewed journals found using PubMed. Articles were selected based on their relevance to my clinical question.

Outcomes Measured: All four studies measured self-report of symptoms of depression using a variety of self-report questionnaires including the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS), Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS).

Results: Three studies found that self-reported symptoms of depression decreased with yoga therapy as compared to control groups of regular prenatal care and standard antenatal practices including simple stretching exercises. One study found that self-reported symptoms of depression decreased with both yoga therapy and the control group, a social support group.

Conclusions: These four RCTs found that there is a statistically significant decrease in self-reports of antenatal depression among healthy pregnant women aged 18-40 years old in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters who engaged in yoga therapy as compared to control groups. However, the generalizability of these results needs further investigation.

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