High-density lipoprotein cholesterol increases following a short-term yoga-based lifestyle intervention: a...

The objective of the study was to assess the effect of a brief but comprehensive yoga-based lifestyle intervention on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c).

This prospective interventional study was performed at the Integral Health Clinic (IHC), an outpatient facility at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, a tertiary health care centre, conducting yoga-based lifestyle intervention programmes for prevention and management of chronic diseases. The study included apparently healthy normal weight, overweight and obese subjects who underwent a pretested 10-day yoga-based programme including asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing exercises), meditation, group discussions, lectures and individualized advice on stress management and healthy diet. The primary outcome measure was change in serum HDL-c at day 10 versus day 0.

238 participants (147 women, 91 men, 38.81±11.40 years) were included in the study. There was a significant increase in HDL-c levels from baseline to day 10 (42.93±5.00 vs 43.52±5.07 mg/dL, P = 0.043). Notably, HDL-c was significantly improved in those for whom the baseline HDL-c levels were lower than the recommended values. Also, there was a reduction in blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, and improvement in other lipid profile variables.

This yoga-based lifestyle intervention significantly increased HDL-c levels in a short duration of 10 days. This has additional clinical relevance as HDL-c is suggested to be one of the strongest statistically independent predictors of major cardiovascular events.