Single-arm Pilot Trial of Hatha Yoga for Adolescents with Depression

ABSTRACT

The prevalence of adolescent depression is increasing, particularly among girls. Existing evidence-based treatments have limitations and/or may not be acceptable to all adolescents and parents. There is evidence that hatha yoga may be useful as an adjunctive treatment for depression in adults. The purpose of the current study was to assess acceptability and feasibility of hatha yoga for depression in teens. We conducted a single-arm pilot trial of 12 weeks of manualized yoga classes specifically targeted toward teens with elevated depression symptoms. We assessed acceptability and feasibility by several metrics and compared our results against a priori benchmarks. We also collected qualitative feedback on the classes. We enrolled 11 teens. We met a priori benchmarks for recruitment and retention rates, credibility of the yoga classes, satisfaction with classes, and (lack of) adverse events causally related to classes. Class attendance and amount of home practice fell below planned benchmarks. Qualitative feedback was positive from the majority, although not all, participants. Results from this study may be used to further refine yoga classes for depressed teens.

Disclosure statement

Dr. Uebelacker's spouse is employed by Abbvie Pharmaceuticals.  Authors did not identify any other potential conflicts of interest.

Supplementary material

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Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by grant # R34 AT009886 from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, U.S.A (PIs: Uebelacker & Yen). This research was also supported by Advance Clinical and Translational Research (Advance – CTR; grant # U54 GM115677 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes of Health.