Assessment of Neurocognitive Impairment in Schizophrenia Patients Before and After Yoga Therapy- A Comparative Interventional Study

In mental disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and substance use disorders, yoga has been shown to provide short-term therapeutic effects as adjuvant therapy. Few studies revealed yoga decreases negative and positive symptoms in schizophrenia patients, improves cognitive symptoms, and increases medication adherence. The present research discusses the cognitive symptoms improvement in schizophrenia patients by applying yoga-based group therapy intervention for people with schizophrenia. We aim to assess the cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia patients before and after yoga therapy. Schizophrenia patients diagnosed by ICD 10 were recruited for the study. The sampling method was convenient sampling; 90 patients with schizophrenia were included in this study. A baseline assessment used PGIBBD (P.G.I. Brain Dysfunction) and CTT (Colour Trail Test). Then, patients were given yoga for six months. Then again, a follow-up assessment was done with the same scales after six months to see if the cognitive symptoms improved or not. It was a hospital-based prospective comparative Interventional study. Data were analysed using statistical tests like descriptive statistics and paired t-tests. Each variable had significant differences from baseline to week 24 among the two groups. PGIBBD scores significantly improved after yoga therapy with p-value <0.05. In the Color Trail test, the total time taken for the test was also enhanced after yoga therapy. Yoga Intervention can be used as an adjuvant therapy for schizophrenia patients for improvement in cognitive symptoms, leading to improvement in quality of life.