Effect of Yoga on Resting Blood Pressure among Postmenopausal Females with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus – A Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial

Context: The benefits of yoga have also been established over menopausal symptoms in recent meta-analyses. However, there is a scarcity of the study among postmenopausal females with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Furthermore, the diversity is present among the studies. Aim: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of yoga module on blood pressure (BP) among postmenopausal females with T2DM. Settings and Design: Pre-post with control group (CG) experimental design conducted in Chandigarh-Tricity. Materials and Methods: Sixty patients were randomly assigned into two groups, i.e. experimental ( n = 30) and CG ( n = 30). Yoga module was given for 8 weeks which was followed by 4 weeks of unsupervised exercise at home as a follow-up period. Systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) were evaluated at baseline (T0), after 8 weeks (T1) and after 4 weeks of follow-up (T2). Statistical Analysis Used: Repeated major analysis of variance was used for the within-group comparison. Between-groups comparison was done using either t -test or Mann–Whitney U test, as per the distribution of data. Results: Within-group comparison reveals the statistically significant improvement in both SBP and DBP, with P < 0.001 for both. However, there was no statistically significant change in the CG as P = 0.913. Between-group comparison reveals that the statistically significant difference between the groups post-intervention with P < 0.001. Conclusions: The resting SBP and DBP of postmenopausal females with T2DM can be improved through Yoga training.