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Observational Study
. 2019 Jan-Dec:18:1534735418822096.
doi: 10.1177/1534735418822096.

Long-Term Changes of Symptoms of Anxiety, Depression, and Fatigue in Cancer Patients 6 Months After the End of Yoga Therapy

Anna Lundt  1 , Elisabeth Jentschke  1
Affiliations
Observational Study

Long-Term Changes of Symptoms of Anxiety, Depression, and Fatigue in Cancer Patients 6 Months After the End of Yoga Therapy

Anna Lundt et al. Integr Cancer Ther. 2019 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Background: Symptoms of anxiety, depression, and cancer-related fatigue are commonly associated with cancer. Cancer patients increasingly use complementary and alternative treatments, such as yoga, to cope with psychological and physical impairments. In the present article, long-term changes of anxiety, depression, and fatigue in cancer are examined 6 months after a yoga intervention.

Method: We used an observational design based on a randomized controlled study in cancer patients with mixed diagnoses to evaluate long-term changes of symptoms of anxiety, depression, and fatigue 6 months after the end of yoga therapy. We measured anxiety symptoms with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7), depressive symptoms with the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2), and fatigue with the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Fatigue Scale (EORTC QLQ-FA13). Yoga therapy was provided in yoga classes of 60 minutes each once a week for 8 weeks in total. The exercises provided contained both body and breathing activities as well as meditation.

Results: A total of 58 patients participated in the study. Six months after the end of yoga therapy, symptoms of anxiety, depression, and fatigue were significantly reduced compared with baseline. However, symptoms of anxiety and fatigue slightly increased during the follow-up period, whereas symptoms of depression remained stable.

Conclusion: Our results are promising and support the integration of yoga interventions in supportive cancer treatment concepts but should be confirmed by randomized controlled trials. Long-term effects of yoga therapy on cancer patients should be the subject of further research.

Keywords: anxiety; cancer; depression; fatigue; oncology; supportive care; yoga.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Observational one-group pre-post design.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Patient flow.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Symptoms of anxiety in the course of the study (n = 55; error bars indicate standard error of the mean).
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Symptoms of depression in the course of the study (n = 55; error bars indicate standard error of the mean).
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Symptoms of fatigue in the course of the study (n = 55; error bars indicate standard error of the mean).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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