Effectiveness of Interventions Based on Yogic Breathing Practices (IB-YBP) on Substance Use Disorders—A Systematic Review of the Randomized Control Trials and Quasi-Experimental Trials. (19th September 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gupta, Snehil; Jhanjee, Sonali; Dhawan, Anju
• Is Part Of: Substance use & misuse. Volume 56:Number 11(2021)
• Page Start: 1624
• Page End: 1641
• Publication Date: 2021-09-19
• Subjects: Yoga -- meditation -- yogic-breathing -- breathing-based interventions -- substance use disorders -- systematic review -- randomized-control trials -- quasi-experimental trials; Narcotic habit -- Periodicals; Alcoholism -- Periodicals; Substance abuse -- Periodicals; Behavior, Addictive -- Periodicals; Sustance-Related Disorders -- Periodicals; 362.2905
• DOI: 10.1080/10826084.2021.1942056
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1082-6084

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction: Interventions based on Yogic Breathing Practices (IB-YBP) have shown promising results for substance use disorders (SUD). Research in this area is methodologically heterogeneous and only a few, but restricted, systematic reviews are available. The current systematic review aims to assess the effectiveness of IB-YBP for SUD. Materials and Methods: PubMed, Cochrane's Library, EBSCO-Medline, and Google Scholar databases were searched for the randomized- (RCTs) and quasi-randomized trials. Research involving participants with SUD, of either gender or any age, assessing the effectiveness of the IB-YBP either as a standalone intervention or as an adjuvant to standard treatment versus standard pharmacological/non-pharmacological treatment or no-intervention control were included. Studies having participants with co-morbid psychiatric illness and interventions not having IB-YBP as the predominant component were excluded. Results: The initial literature search yielded 396 articles and upon screening, only 14 studies were found eligible for this review. Most studies have researched IB-YBP as an adjunct to the standard treatment for SUD. Evidence for the effectiveness of IB-YBP is mostly available for tobacco and opioid use disorders, though only for short-term outcomes; however, literature is scarce for alcohol- and cocaine-use disorders. This review documented the effectiveness of the IB-YBP for substance use-related outcome parameters such as abstinence, quality of life (QoL), mood, craving, and withdrawal symptoms. Conclusion: IB-YBP may be an effective adjuvant to standard treatment for various SUD. However, more research is required to compare its effectiveness with standard treatment, and assessing its long-term efficacy, for it to be strongly recommended as a treatment strategy.