Treating Major Depression With Yoga Mono-therapy: 12-Week Randomized Controlled Trial
University of California, San Francisco
Summary
The goal of this single-center, single-blind, randomized, controlled, parallel group, interventional trial is to evaluate antidepressant efficacy of yoga monotherapy of 12-weeks duration in 180 adults meeting diagnostic criteria for mild-to-moderate major depression at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Researchers will compare the yoga interventions to an education control intervention on holistic healthcare.
Description
Consenting participants will be randomized equally to one of three in-person group interventions for 12 weeks: Standard yoga practice, Ayurvedic yoga practice, or educational attention-control modules. The primary outcome is depression severity, measured by Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI) scores. Secondary outcomes include perceived stress, measured by Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) scores, and several biomarker assays associated with depression: methylation of the GrimAge epigenetic clock, nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) transcription, leucocyte telomere length, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and brain…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18+ years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion criteria: * 18 years of age or older * Able to give voluntary, informed consent * English-speaking * Diagnosis of clinical depression Exclusion criteria: * Current use of antidepressant medication * Current engagement in psychotherapy * Current pregnancy * Significant medical issues interfering with yoga practice
Interventions
- BehavioralYoga practice
90-minute group yoga classes twice weekly for 12 weeks.
- BehavioralEducation
90-minute group education classes twice weekly for 12 weeks to learn holistic healthcare modules.
Location
- Zuckerberg San Francisco General HospitalSan Francisco, California