Effectiveness of Yoga as a Complementary Therapy for Anorexia Nervosa: A Systematic Review.

Yoga appears to improve anorexia nervosa symptoms, particularly emotional dysregulation, but evidence is weak. A review of five studies found that all but one had serious methodological problems, including confounding factors like psychiatric comorbidity and small sample sizes. The authors conclude yoga is a candidate complementary treatment but call for more randomized controlled trials with larger samples and less bias to draw robust conclusions. They also suggest comparing yoga's effectiveness against psychotherapy or medication and adapting yoga practices to the specific needs of these patients.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe psychiatric condition associated with high disability and mortality. The purpose of the present manuscript is to critically summarize evidence about the effectiveness of yoga for this condition. A bibliographic search was conducted in the main database sources (PubMed, Embase, and Scopus). Articles in English about the effectiveness of yoga in AN were included. Two hundred thirty-three articles were initially identified and 5 articles were included in the present review. With the exception of one study, all had several methodological limitations such as the presence of confounding factors (e.g., psychiatric comorbidity) or a too limited sample of patients. However, globally yoga seems to ameliorate AN symptoms, especially those regarding emotional dysregulation. Yoga is a candidate complementary treatment for the management of AN, but more randomized controlled studies with larger samples and limited bias are necessary to draw robust conclusions. It would be also interesting to verify in comparative trials the effectiveness of yoga with respect to other treatments such as psychotherapy or the administration of pharmacological compounds. Finally, the practice should be modified adapting to the specific needs of this type of patient.