Yoga’s Impact on Inflammation, Mood, and Fatigue in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Mené sur 200 patientes traitées pour un cancer du sein au cours des trois dernières années et ayant terminé le traitement depuis 2 mois au moins (âge : 27 à 76 ans), cet essai randomisé contrôlé évalue l'intérêt de 2 séances par semaine de Hatha yoga sur une période de 3 mois pour réduire l'inflammation et les symptomes de fatigue post-traitement, et améliorer l'état psychologique des patientes
Purpose : To evaluate yoga’s impact on inflammation, mood, and fatigue. Patients and Methods : A randomized controlled 3-month trial was conducted with two post-treatment assessments of 200 breast cancer survivors assigned to either 12 weeks of 90-minute twice per week hatha yoga classes or a wait-list control. The main outcome measures were lipopolysaccharide-stimulated production of proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-
α), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and scores on the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory-Short Form (MFSI-SF), the vitality scale from the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form (SF-36), and the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale. Results
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Immediately post-treatment, fatigue was not lower (P > .05) but vitality was higher (P = .01) in the yoga group compared with the control group. At 3 months post-treatment, fatigue was lower in the yoga group (P = .002), vitality was higher (P = .01), and IL-6 (P = .027), TNF-α (P = .027), and IL-1β (P = .037) were lower for yoga participants compared with the control group. Groups did not differ on depression at either time (P > .2). Planned secondary analyses showed that the frequency of yoga practice had stronger associations with fatigue at both post-treatment visits (P = .019; P < .001), as well as vitality (P = .016; P = .0045), but not depression (P > .05) than simple group assignment; more frequent practice produced larger changes. At 3 months post-treatment, increasing yoga practice also led to a decrease in IL-6 (P = .01) and IL-1β (P = .03) production but not in TNF-α production (P > .05). Conclusion
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Chronic inflammation may fuel declines in physical function leading to frailty and disability. If yoga dampens or limits both fatigue and inflammation, then regular practice could have substantial health benefits.