Integrated Psychological, Yoga Intervention Aids Depression, Anxiety With Cancer

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 27, 2024 (HealthDay News) — An integrated psychological and yoga intervention may reduce depressive symptoms and state anxiety among women with cancer, according to a proof-of-concept study published online Oct. 18 in Integrative Cancer Therapies.

Grace Ann Hanvey, Ph.D., from the University of Florida in Gainesville, and colleagues evaluated an integrated group yoga and psychological intervention in alleviating distress among women with gynecologic, gastrointestinal, and thoracic cancers. The analysis included 125 participants in a 10-week intervention.

The researchers found that, overall, there were reductions in total (b = −2.06) and somatic depressive symptoms (b = −1.79) and state anxiety (b = −6.21). There was an association between greater reductions in psychosocial distress related to fear of cancer recurrence (b = −0.74) and in total (b = −1.06) and affective depressive symptoms (b = −0.76) in those with higher socioeconomic status. Greater declines in somatic symptoms were seen among women of color versus non-Hispanic White women (b = −2.71), with women of color experiencing lower socioeconomic status showing the greatest reduction in these symptoms (b = 1.73).

“This study demonstrates proof-of-concept that an integrated psychological and yoga intervention may reduce depressive symptoms and state anxiety among women with gynecologic, gastrointestinal, and thoracic cancers,” the authors write. “Future research should examine intervention feasibility and acceptability among diverse women with cancer and evaluate efficacy using a randomized controlled trial design.”

Abstract/Full Text