Assessment of the effectiveness of yoga therapy as an adjunct in patients with alcohol dependence syndrome

Introduction: Substance use disorders, alcohol use in particular, are among the leading disorders in psychiatry in terms of prevalence. They put a lot of burden on health as well as family, society, and economic status of the patient. What more challenging is that such patients often suffer from comorbid anxiety and depression, which has the potential to perpetuate the alcohol use. Yoga is an alternative and complementary therapy which is widely practiced by people in India. However, its effectiveness in alcohol use disorders is not tested systematically. Aims and objectives: To study the effectiveness of yoga as an adjunctive therapy in patients of alcohol use disorders and to evaluate its ability to reduce comorbid depression, anxiety, and craving. Materials and methods: Hundred patients of alcohol use disorders as per the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) were selected and were divided into two groups each containing 50 patients. The case group received structured yoga session in addition to standard pharmacotherapy while the control group received only pharmacotherapy. Assessment of depression (Hamilton depression rating scale [HAM-D]), anxiety (Hamilton anxiety rating scale [HAM-A]), and craving (Obsessive-compulsive drinking scale [OCDS]) was done at baseline, two weeks, and at one month. Results were compared between the two groups and statistical analysis was done. Results: Both the case and control groups were similar in HAM-D (p=0.9634), HAM-A (p=0.7744), and OCDS (p= 0.8626) scores at baseline. There was significant reduction in HAM-A score at one month (p=0.0091), and OCDS score at two weeks (p=0.0428) and one month (p<0.0001) respectively in yoga group as compared to control group. Within case group, only reduction in HAM-A (p<0.001 and p<0.01) and OCDS (p<0.0001 and p<0.0001) scores were progressively better statistically at two weeks and one month while reduction in HAM-D score was significant only till two weeks (p<0.05). Conclusion: Yoga therapy significantly reduced anxiety symptoms and craving in patients of alcohol dependence but not depressive symptoms. Secondly, practicing yoga for a longer period of time has progressive benefits.