Efficacy of Yoga for Postpartum Depression

August 7, 2014 updated by: University of Iowa

Efficacy of Yoga for Depressed Postpartum Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The aim of this project is to compare the efficacy of an 8-week yoga intervention, relative to a wait-list control (WLC) condition, for improving psychological functioning and health-related quality of life in depressed postpartum women. It was hypothesized that the yoga intervention would be significantly more efficacious than the wait-list control condition in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety, and improving health-related quality of life, at the end of the 8-week yoga intervention.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

57

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Iowa
      • Iowa City, Iowa, United States, 52242
        • University of Iowa

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 45 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Score of 12 or greater on the 17-item Hamilton Depressing Rating Scale
  • Participant must reside within a 30 mile radius of the yoga studios
  • ≥ 6 weeks postpartum if delivery was either complicated and/or involved a cesarean section

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Current or past diagnosis of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder, alcohol or drug abuse/dependence (except nicotine), or anorexia in the past year
  • Acute suicidal or homicidal risk
  • Current mental health treatment, including psychotropic medications or psychotherapy with a certified therapist
  • St. John's Wort or Fish oil
  • Practiced yoga at a studio with a certified yoga instructor within the past month
  • Significant medical disorder (e.g., seizure disorder) that is contraindicated for exercise in postpartum women

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Wait-list Control Group
Experimental: Yoga
8-week Gentle Vinyasa Flow yoga intervention
Behavioral: Yoga

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from baseline in depression on the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) at week 8
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 8
The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) is a validated and reliable measure of the severity of depressive symptoms, and is used extensively in depression treatment studies. The 17-item HDRS is sensitive to treatment change in the postpartum population, and is a valid indicator of depression severity in postpartum depression despite the overlap between somatic HDRS items and typical experiences of postpartum women.
Baseline, Week 8

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from baseline in panic symptoms on the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms Panic Scale (IDAS) at week 8
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 8
The Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms (IDAS) is a 64-item factor analytically derived, multidimensional inventory that uses a 5-point Likert scale to assess symptoms of depression and anxiety over the past 2 weeks (1 = not at all to 5 = extremely). The IDAS has strong internal consistency reliability, with median coefficient alphas greater than .80, and has been validated for use in a postpartum sample. The Panic scale is an 8-item measure that assesses symptoms traditionally linked to anxiety.
Baseline, Week 8
Change from baseline in social anxiety symptoms on the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms Social Anxiety Scale (IDAS) at week 8
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 8
The Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms (IDAS) is a 64-item factor analytically derived, multidimensional inventory that uses a 5-point Likert scale to assess symptoms of depression and anxiety over the past 2 weeks (1 = not at all to 5 = extremely). The IDAS has strong internal consistency reliability, with median coefficient alphas greater than .80, and has been validated for use in a postpartum sample. The Social Anxiety scale is a 5-item measure that assesses symptoms traditionally linked to anxiety.
Baseline, Week 8
Change from baseline in traumatic intrusion symptoms on the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms Traumatic Intrusions Scale (IDAS) at week 8
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 8
The Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms (IDAS) is a 64-item factor analytically derived, multidimensional inventory that uses a 5-point Likert scale to assess symptoms of depression and anxiety over the past 2 weeks (1 = not at all to 5 = extremely). The IDAS has strong internal consistency reliability, with median coefficient alphas greater than .80, and has been validated for use in a postpartum sample. The Traumatic Intrusions scale is a 4-item measure that assesses symptoms traditionally linked to anxiety.
Baseline, Week 8
Change from baseline in health-related quality of life symptoms on the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) at week 8
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 8
The Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) is a well-validated measure of Health-related Quality of Life and consists of 36 items reflecting 8 domains of health: 1) role-limiting physical, 2) role-limiting emotional, 3) physical functioning, 4) social functioning, 5) mental health, 6) energy and vitality, 7) pain, and 8) general health perceptions.
Baseline, Week 8

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Iowa

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Melissa M Buttner, Ph.D., University of Iowa
  • Principal Investigator: Michael W O'Hara, Ph.D., University of Iowa

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

June 1, 2011

Primary Completion (Actual)

October 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 7, 2014

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 7, 2014

First Posted (Estimate)

August 11, 2014

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

August 11, 2014

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 7, 2014

Last Verified

August 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 201105725

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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