ABSTRACT
A 43-year-old-married male diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in July 2020. His symptoms as described by him began with cough and sore throat, breathlessness, generalized body weakness, irritability, stress, and mood swing for a period of one week. He was admitted in our District COVID Care Center (DCCC) located in Tamil Nadu, India. He underwent Integrated Yoga and Naturopathy (IYN) [i.e., Conventional medicine + yoga and naturopathy] for two weeks. The results showed negative Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test for COVID-19, improvement in cardiovascular functions (i.e., a reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressures, pulse rate, mean arterial pressure, rate pressure product, and double product) and mental health (i.e., a reduction in depression, anxiety, and stress levels). The results suggest that IYN might improve cardiovascular and mental health of patients with COVID-19 in addition to positive to negative conversion of RT-PCR. However, further studies are required to warrant these results.
ABSTRACT
Background: Autonomic dysfunction is one of the major complications in noncommunicable diseases, and there are studies to prove yoga practice improves cardiac autonomic function. So, this present study was done to compare the autonomic functions among yoga practitioners and nonyoga practitioners. Methods: This cross-sectional comparative study was initiated among 68 healthy volunteers of both sexes, after recruiting them based on inclusion and exclusion criteria in the age group of 17-30 yrs. The autonomic reactivity tests like resting heart rate, response of heart rate to standing, Valsalva maneuver, and response of heart rate to deep breathing, response of BP to standing, and sustained hand-grip were done. Results: In the autonomic reactivity test, resting heart rate (80.92 ± 11.76 vs 69.24 ± 10.64) and sustained handgrip (16.30 ± 4.53 vs 10.20 ± 3.67) significantly decreased (P < 0.05) in the participants of the yoga group compared to control group. Deep breathing test, Valsalva maneuver, 30:15 ratio in lying to standing, and BP response to standing test did not show any significant difference between the groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The present study revealed diminished sympathetic activity and improved parasympathetic activity among the regular yoga practicing participants. It can be practiced regularly to reduce stress and prevent lifestyle-associated disorders in the future.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infection has caused a prominent psychological and mental havoc among the patients. Till now, there is paucity in literature for the management of psychological problems among patients with Covid-19. So we aimed in our study to assess the effect of Yoga and Naturopathy intervention on anxiety and depression of Covid-19 patients. METHODS: This quasi experimental study was conducted among 130 Covid-19 positive patients admitted in a tertiary care hospital. Yoga and Naturopathic intervention was given for 60 min a day for two weeks. Hospital anxiety depression scale (HADS) and Corona anxiety scale (CAS) was used to assess the generalized anxiety and depression among the patients. RESULTS: Average age of the patients participated was 44 with the range from 36 to 53 years. Among them 85 were male and 45 were female. Of all 130 patients, 33% had symptoms of borderline depression, 9.2% had severe depression, 40% had borderline anxiety and 12.3% had severe anxiety. In CAS, 59 patients (45.38%) reported Covid-19 related dysfunctional anxiety. All the patients showed a significant reduction in the HADS- anxiety (P < 0.01), HADS-depression (p < 0.01) and CAS (p < 0.01) score after the intervention. CONCLUSION: The present study showed significant reduction of anxiety and depression level among the Covid-19 patients. These interventions can be added to the conventional care for better mental and physical wellbeing of the patients after validating the findings with justified study design.
