The psychosomatic impact of Yoga in medical education: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Sabyasachi Maity, Raman Abbaspour, Stephan Bandelow, Sehaj Pahwa, Taraneh Alahdadi, Sharan Shah, Praghosh Chhetri, Ameet Kumar Jha, Shreya Nauhria, Reetuparna Nath, Narendra Nayak, Samal Nauhria
Medical education online December 31, 2024 DOI: 10.1080/10872981.2024.2364486 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractYoga interventions significantly reduce blood pressure, heart rate, stress, and anxiety in medical and dental students. A meta-analysis of 18 studies found systolic blood pressure dropped by 6.82 mmHg, diastolic by 2.92 mmHg, and heart rate by 2.55 beats per minute. Stress scores fell by 0.77 standardized units, and anxiety scores by 1.2 standardized units. These results suggest yoga can improve both physiological and psychological health in this population, supporting its inclusion in medical curricula.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Systematic review and meta-analysis Qualitative Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Medical and dental students |
| Intervention | Yoga |
| Topics | Anxiety |
| Keywords | Yoga Academic performance Medical education Medical student |
| Citations | 23 |
| Key finding | Yoga intervention significantly reduced systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, stress, and anxiety in medical and dental students compared to controls. |
Abstract
Non-clinical approaches such as meditation, yoga, and mindfulness are popular traditional therapeutical interventions adopted by many educational institutions to improve the physical and mental well-being of learners. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of yoga intervention in improving cardiopulmonary parameters such as blood pressure, heart rate, pulmonary function tests and psychosomatic symptoms such as depression, anxiety and stress in medical and dental students. Using the PRISMA protocol, a search from databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Embase resulted in 304 relevant articles. After screening the title and abstracts, 47 papers were analyzed thoroughly and included in the qualitative analysis. 18 articles with homogenous statistical data on physiology and psychological parameters were included for meta-analysis. In comparison to the control group, the study showed a significant reduction of systolic blood pressure (SBP: 6.82 mmHg, z = -3.06, p = 0.002), diastolic blood pressure (DBP: 2.92 mmHg, z = -2.22, p = 0.03), and heart rate (HR: 2.55 beats/min, z = -2.77, p = 0.006). Additionally, data from 4 studies yielded a significant overall effect of a stress reduction of 0.77 on standardized assessments due to the yoga intervention (z = 5.29, p < 0.0001). Lastly, the results also showed a significant (z = -2.52, p = 0.01) reduction of 1.2 in standardized anxiety tests in intervention group compared to the control. The findings offer promising prospects for medical educators globally, encouraging them to consider reformation and policymaking in medical curricula to enhance academic success and improve the overall quality of life for medical students worldwide.