Adjunct yoga therapy: Influence on heart rate variability in major depressive disorder - A randomized controlled trial

HRV is inversely proportional to severity of depression. Effect of 12-weeks adjunct yoga therapy on HRV in patients with MDD was assessed through a randomized controlled trial. Sixty-eight subjects (40 females) with mean age 31.58 +/- 8.79 years, scoring >= 18 on HDRS were randomized to either (YG; n = 35) or (WG; n = 33). Linear mixed model analysis showed no significant difference between groups. On comparing change in mean percentage, substantial more decrease could be elicited only for LF/HF ratio in YG compared to WG, while being comparable for other variables across the groups. Findings suggest Yoga therapy may help in bringing parasympathetic dominance in patients with MDD.