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Effectiveness of Yoga Intervention in Reducing Felt Stigma in Adults With Epilepsy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Neurology
January 1, 1970
Kirandeep Kaur et al. (12 authors)
Randomized Controlled TrialJournal ArticleHuman StudyClinical
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to determine whether yoga and psychoeducation could reduce felt stigma and improve neuropsychiatric outcomes in persons with epilepsy compared to sham yoga and psychoeducation.

Results Summary

The intervention arm showed significant reductions in felt stigma, improved quality of life, and reduced anxiety and depression compared to the control arm at 6 months. Mindfulness improvements were noted as a secondary outcome.

Population

Adults aged 18-60 years clinically diagnosed with epilepsy and scoring above the cutoff for felt stigma on the Kilifi Stigma Scale.

Effective Dosage

Not specified (yoga therapy plus psychoeducation for 3 months).

Duration

3 months (with follow-up at 6 months).

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (12)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
yoga therapy plus psychoeducation
decrease
felt stigma
persons with epilepsy
Cohen's d = 0.89
significant reduction
#1
yoga therapy plus psychoeducation
decrease
seizure frequency
persons with epilepsy
Cohen's d = 0.46
significant reduction
#2
yoga therapy plus psychoeducation
increase
quality of life
persons with epilepsy
Cohen's d = 0.62
significant improvement
#3
yoga therapy plus psychoeducation
decrease
anxiety
persons with epilepsy
Cohen's d = 0.56
significant reduction
#4
yoga therapy plus psychoeducation
decrease
depression
persons with epilepsy
Cohen's d = 0.48
significant reduction
#5
yoga therapy plus psychoeducation
increase
mindfulness
persons with epilepsy
Cohen's d = 0.67
significant improvement
#6
yoga therapy plus psychoeducation
decrease
trait rumination
persons with epilepsy
Cohen's d = 0.58
significant reduction
#7
yoga therapy plus psychoeducation
decrease
cognitive impairment
persons with epilepsy
Cohen's d = 0.49
significant reduction
#8
yoga therapy plus psychoeducation
increase
emotion regulation
persons with epilepsy
Cohen's d = 0.61
significant improvement
#9
yoga
decrease
burden of epilepsy
persons with epilepsy
-
alleviate the burden of epilepsy
#10
yoga
increase
overall quality of life
persons with epilepsy
-
improve the overall quality of life
#11
yoga
decrease
perceived stigma
persons with epilepsy
-
reducing perceived stigma
#12
Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Persons with epilepsy are afflicted with comorbidities such as stigma, anxiety, and depression which have a significant impact on their quality of life. These comorbidities remain largely unaddressed in resource-limited countries. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed to investigate whether yoga and psychoeducation were effective in reducing felt stigma (primary outcome), neuropsychiatric outcomes, and seizure frequency, as compared with sham yoga and psychoeducation in persons with epilepsy. METHODS: This was an assessor-blinded, sham yoga-controlled RCT. Patients clinically diagnosed with epilepsy, aged 18-60 years, and scoring higher than the cutoff score for felt stigma as measured by the Kilifi Stigma Scale (KSS) in our population were randomly assigned to receive either yoga therapy plus psychoeducation (intervention) or sham yoga therapy plus psychoeducation (comparator) for a duration of 3 months. The primary outcome was a significant decrease in felt stigma as compared with the comparator arm as measured by the KSS. Primary and secondary outcomes (seizure frequency, quality of life, anxiety, depression, mindfulness, trait rumination, cognitive impairment, emotion regulation) were assessed at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Parametric/nonparametric analysis of covariance and the χ RESULTS: A total of 160 patients were enrolled in the trial. At the end of the follow-up period (6 months), the intervention arm reported significant reduction in felt stigma as compared with the control arm (Cohen's DISCUSSION: Yoga can alleviate the burden of epilepsy and improve the overall quality of life in epilepsy by reducing perceived stigma. TRIAL REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Clinical Trials Registry of India (CTRI/2017/04/008385). CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class I evidence that yoga reduces felt stigma in adult patients with epilepsy.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
AdultHumansYogaEpilepsyEmotionsSeizuresAnxietyQuality of Life
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy85/10
Quality90/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations7
Citations/Year3.5
Relative Citation Ratio2.52
NIH Percentile80.9%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.50
Weight Score1.74
Normalized Score0.72
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