Effectiveness of Yoga Intervention in Reducing Felt Stigma in Adults With Epilepsy
Kirandeep Kaur, Gautam Sharma, Rekha Dwivedi, Ashima Nehra, Niranjan Parajuli, Ashish Datt Upadhyay, Kishore Kumar Deepak, Man Singh Jat, Bhargavi Ramanujam, Rajesh Sagar, Sriloy Mohanty, Manjari Tripathi
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Persons with epilepsy are afflicted with comorbidities such as stigma, anxiety, and depression which have a significant impact on their quality of life. These comorbidities remain largely unaddressed in resource-limited countries. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed to investigate whether yoga and psychoeducation were effective in reducing felt stigma (primary outcome), neuropsychiatric outcomes, and seizure frequency, as compared with sham yoga and psychoeducation in persons with epilepsy. METHODS: test were used to compare the 2 arms. RESULTS: < 0.05). DISCUSSION: Yoga can alleviate the burden of epilepsy and improve the overall quality of life in epilepsy by reducing perceived stigma. TRIAL REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Clinical Trials Registry of India (CTRI/2017/04/008385). CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class I evidence that yoga reduces felt stigma in adult patients with epilepsy.