Impact of Short-Term Integrated Yoga Therapy Intervention on Systemic Inflammatory Markers and Quality of Life in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease with prolonged dysregulation of pro- and anti-inflammatory immune pathways resulting in chronic inflammation, which alters the functional status and quality of life. The present study aimed to assess the short-term effect of yoga therapy on systemic inflammatory markers and quality of life among RA patients.

Methods: The study included one hundred RA patients aged 18-60 years and randomized into yoga (n = 50) and control (n = 50) groups. A structured yoga therapy was given for 12 weeks along with their regular disease-modifying antirheumatic medications (DMARDs). During the study period, all the participants were allowed to continue their daily lifestyle and diet.

Results: After 12 weeks of intervention, the yoga group reported a significant decrease in interleukin-6 (IL 6) ( < .001), C-reactive protein (CRP) ( < .01), rheumatoid factor (RA factor) ( = .02), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) ( = .05), compared to the control group. Furthermore, compared to the control group, yoga participants showed significant improvement in functional status and disease activity, which included the assessment of DAS-28 (to assess the disease activity) ( < .001), patient global assessment ( < .001), and reduced Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score (pain intensity assessment) ( < .01). The secondary outcome was the quality of life (SF-36 questionnaire), which showed significant improvement post-intervention ( = .05).

Conclusion: The present study has demonstrated that short-term yoga therapy could lower systemic inflammatory markers by maintaining immune homeostasis to improve the functional status and quality of life in RA patients.