The Effects of Yoga on Student Mental Health

NCT ID: NCT04258540

Last Updated: 2020-02-06

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

202 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2016-12-16

Study Completion Date

2018-02-20

Brief Summary

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The investigators performed a randomised controlled trial with 202 healthy university students in the Oslo area, with 50:50 in a yoga intervention group and a waitlist control group. Measures included symptoms of depression and anxiety, sleep problems, heart rate variability (HRV), well-being and mindfulness at week 0 (baseline), week 12 (post-intervention) and week 24 (follow-up).

Detailed Description

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Universities around the world are facing an epidemic of mental health problems among their students. The problem is truly a public health issue, affecting many and with serious consequences. Moreover, the global burden of disease-agenda calls for effective interventions with lasting effects that have the potential to improve the mental health of young adults. In this study the investigators aimed to determine whether yoga, a popular and widely available mind-body practice, can improve student mental health.

The participants were randomly assigned to a yoga group or waitlist control group in a 1:1 ratio by a simple online randomisation program. The intervention group was offered 24 yoga sessions over 12 weeks. Measurements were taken at week 0 (baseline), week 12 (post-intervention), and week 24 (follow-up). The primary outcome was psychological distress assessed by the HSCL-25 questionnaire. Analysis was performed based on the intention to treat-principle.

The methods were laid out in a protocol, previously published on the website of the study. (available at http://yogastudy.tilda.ws/). The planned analyses were very straightforward and included a description of the study participants, and simple analyses of each of the a priori selected outcome measures. We have not included or excluded any variables post-hoc.

Conditions

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Mental Health Public Health Depression, Anxiety Sleep Problem University Students

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Investigators Outcome Assessors
Randomisation by a simple online program.

Study Groups

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Intervention group

The intervention group received a yoga course for 12 weeks, two times a week. Each yoga class was 1.25 hr in duration.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Yoga group

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The intervention group received yoga 2 times a week for 12 weeks (á 1.25 hr).

Control group waitlist

The control group were on a waitlist during the period of measurements, and received the same yoga course after all measurements had been completed.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

yoga course

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

yoga course

Interventions

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Yoga group

The intervention group received yoga 2 times a week for 12 weeks (á 1.25 hr).

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

yoga course

yoga course

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

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Intervention group

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Living in the Oslo area

Exclusion Criteria

* No serious mental health diagnoses
* No recent major life crisis
* No systematic yoga practice during the prior six months
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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University of Oslo

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Tiril Elstad

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Tiril Elstad, MA (hon)

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Oslo

Locations

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University of Oslo

Oslo, , Norway

Site Status

Countries

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Norway

References

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Elstad T, Ulleberg P, Klonteig S, Hisdal J, Dyrdal GM, Bjorndal A. The effects of yoga on student mental health: a randomised controlled trial. Health Psychol Behav Med. 2020 Nov 11;8(1):573-586. doi: 10.1080/21642850.2020.1843466.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 34040886 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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2016/1751 C

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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