Objectives
The studies will include psychological assessment through questionnaires and objective measures on basic physiological parameters such as stress hormone cortisol and cytokine IL-6. Our hypothesis is that yoga will lead to a measurable effect on psychological distress in breast cancer patients and that a correlation with favorable changes in physiological parameters may impact disease progression.
Outcomes
The study is recruiting participants
Background
Increasing numbers of patients are treated with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) methods. Despite growing health care costs and limited evidence of the efficacy of most CAM therapies, their use has grown substantially over the past 15 years in Europe, the United States and Australia (Kessler et al., 2001). One of the most widely used CAM therapies is yoga and associated practices. Hatha-yoga is the most commonly used in the West, which includes control of posture (asanas) and the manipulation of respiration (pranayama). Hatha-yoga is thought to improve bodily functions through the manipulation of cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic, and other control mechanisms.
Financing
UiO and OUS
Cooperation
- Prof. Gunnar Aksel Bjune (Department of International Health, Institute of General Practice and Community Medicine, UiO, Oslo)
- Dr. Anette Kjellgren (Department of Psychology, U. of Karlstad, Sweden)
- Prof. Torsten Nordlander (Department of Psychology, U. of Karlstad, Sweden)
Start - Finish
The study started in 2010 and is ongoing