10-week Yoga Practice Effect on Cognitive and Motor Function in Older Adults (BDNF)

10-week Yoga Practice Effect in Older Adults

Thirty-three healthy elderly people, who were classified into two age groups, participated in this study. All participants had not practiced yoga before and were asked not to perform any sports activities while the research was ongoing. In the experimental group, participants (n = 18) had to participate in 10 weeks of yoga classes. In the control group, participants (n = 15) did not perform any exercises or other changes in their daily living life.

Experimental measurements: Brunel, PSS-14 and HAD questionnaires

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Aging; Healthy Aging
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Yoga trainings

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 33
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Lithuania
  • Kaunas, Lithuania, 44221
    • Lithuanian Sports Unviersity

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 60 years to 76 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• age, from 60 years old
• a statement by a local family physician about general good physical health
• never tired to practice yoga before

Exclusion Criteria:

• cardiovascular diseases
• musculoskeletal system diseases (osteoporosis, osteochondrosis, hernias)
• neurodegenerative diseases
• oncological diseases
• glaucoma
• injuries and surgeries in last 3 years

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: 10-week Yoga; Eighteen healthy elderly people, who were classified into two age groups, participated in this study. All participants had not practiced yoga before and were asked not to perform any sports activities while the research was ongoing. In the experimental group, participants (n = 18) had to participate in 10 weeks of yoga classes. In the control group, participants (n = 15) did not perform any exercises or other changes in their daily living life. All experimental group subjects participated in Himalayan yoga classes, which lasted 10 weeks: 2 times per week, 90 min per session. Yoga classes were conducted by 16-year-old qualified yoga instructor from Yoga Academy, Kaunas.	Other: Yoga trainings; 10-week yoga sessions, 2 times per week, 90 min per session.
No Intervention: Control; In the control group, participants (n = 15) did not perform any exercises or other changes in their daily living life.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Brunel mood scale (BRUMS)	The Lithuanian translated version of the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) was used in the present study. It was based on the originally developed to serve as a brief measure of mood before and after yoga intervention. The BRUMS (1) scale has 24 items arranged into six subscales: anger, confusion, depression, fatigue, tension and vigor. Each subscale has a numerical rating scale (0 = not at all, 1 = a bit, 2 = moderate, 3 = enough; 4 = extremely) from which research participant select the one best represents at that time. The results within subscale is summed and a score range from 0 to 16	10 weeks
Hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS)	To determine the level of anxiety and depression of subjects was used HADS scale. The scale consists of totally 14 questions with the answers valued from 0 to 3. Half of questions addressed to estimate anxiety and rest - depression. The total scoring and conclusion for the both categories of questions: 0-7 = Normal; 8-10 = Borderline abnormal (borderline case); 11-21 = Abnormal (case)	10 weeks
Perceived stress scale -14	The purpose of this scale is to assess the degree of stress in subjects' lives. It consists of questions about the frequency of feeling and thoughts during the past time period. Potential answers: 0-never; 1-almost never; 2-sometimes; 3-fairly often and 4-very often. The scores are obtained by reversing the scores on the four positive items: for example, 0=4, 1=3, 2=2, etc. and then summing across all items. Scores for the 14-item form range from 0 to 56, with higher scores indicating greater perceived stress	10 weeks
Human Free BDNF	Venous blood samples from median antecubital vein were collected in 5 ml vacuum tubes with a gel separator and was separated by centrifugation (15 min at 1200g) to make blood serum. Samples were aliquoted and stored at -800C until analysis. The serum concentration of Human Free BDNF was measured using an enzyme-linked immunoassay kit (R&D Systems, Minneapolis, USA)	10 weeks
Measurement of cognitive functions	Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics Version 4 (ANAM-4; Vista Life, USA) was used to measure neurocognitive skills: mental flexibility, verbal working memory, inhibition control, visuospatial processing.	10 weeks
Psychomotor function evaluation	Participants were assessed by Dynamic Parameter Analyzer (DPA-1). Its measure motor functions: accuracy, reaction speed-accuracy.	10 weeks
Heart rate variability	R-R intervals were recorded using a Polar H7 sensor with a chest strap (Kempele, Finland).	10 weeks
Balance procedure	Postural sway activity was measured by a posturography method with a single piezoelectric force plate (Kistler, Slimline System 9286, Switzerland).	10 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Lithuanian Sports University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 1, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 30, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): September 30, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 17, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 17, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): March 19, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 20, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 18, 2020
• Last Verified: March 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: LithuanianSportsU-3

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No