Impact of yoga therapy on glycemic control and heart rate variability among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients: A randomized controlled trial

A BSTRACT Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major lifestyle disorder with multiple systemic complications. Although conventional treatments have been able to combat the symptoms and complications, it has not been able to provide long-lasting control, hence yoga is considered more effective and alternate method of controlling diabetes mellitus. Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of yoga protocol on heart rate variability (HRV), glycemic control, and anthropometric parameters in T2DM individuals. Materials and Methods: This is a randomized, comparative study design. A total of 100 participants who met the inclusion criteria were randomly allocated into two groups, the test group ( n = 50) received yogic protocol along with pharmacological treatment and the control group ( n = 50) was on conventional treatment with regular activities for 90 days. The pre­post assessments of HRV, anthropometric measurements, and blood samples were collected at baseline and after 3 months. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: The experimental group showed significant decrease in blood pressure, heart rate, low frequency (LF), LF/HF, blood glucose, HbA1c and anthropometric parameters as compared to control gorup. However, there was no significant effect of yoga therapy on waist-hip ratio. Conclusion: The result of the present study demonstrated that yoga is effective in reducing blood glucose levels in patients with T2DM. Hence, the given specific yogic intervention can be clinically used in the management of T2DM.