Search

• This is the first cost-effectiveness analysis for yoga in patients with depression. • A yoga intervention was added to treatment as usual for young women with MDD. • Adding yoga was likely to be cost-effective compared to treatment as usual only. • This was mainly due to decreased work absenteeism. In a randomized controlled trial in the Netherlands, we studied the (cost)effectiveness of adding a mindful yoga intervention (MYI+TAU) to treatment as usual (TAU) for young women with major depressive disorder (MDD). In this paper, we present the results of the economic analyses. Societal costs and health outcomes were prospectively assessed during 15 months for all randomized participants (n = 171). Symptoms of depression (Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales; DASS) and quality adjusted life years (QALYs) were used as health outcomes in the economic analyses. Mean total societal costs during the 15 months of the study were €11.966 for the MYI+TAU group and €13.818 for the TAU group, differences in mean total societal costs were not statistically significant. Health outcomes (DASS and QALY) were slightly in favour of MYI+TAU, but differences between groups were not statistically significant. Combining costs and health outcomes in cost-effectiveness analyses indicated that MYI+TAU is likely to be cost-effective compared to TAU which was confirmed by sensitivity analyses. Although there were limitations in the cost-effectiveness analysis, findings from this study suggest that MYI+TAU warrants future attention for the potential to be cost-effective compared to TAU for young women with MDD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Despite the gains made by current first‐line interventions for major depressive disorder (MDD), modest rates of treatment response and high relapse indicate the need to augment existing interventions. Following theory and initial research indicating the promise of mindful yoga interventions (MYIs), this study examines mindful yoga as a treatment of MDD. Methods/Design: This randomized controlled trial uses a sample of young females (18–34 years) to examine the efficacy and cost‐effectiveness of a 9‐week manualized MYI added to treatment as usual (TAU) versus TAU alone. Primary outcome measures consist of clinician‐administered (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) and self‐report (Depression‐Anxiety‐Stress Scales) measures of depression. Underlying mechanisms will be examined, including rumination, negative self‐evaluation, intolerance of uncertainty, interoceptive awareness, and dispositional mindfulness. Assessments were conducted at preintervention and will be conducted at postintervention, 6‐, and 12‐month follow up. Results: The baseline sample consists of 171 females (88 were randomized into the MYI), reporting a baseline Mage = 25.08 years (SDage = 4.64), MHamilton‐depression = 18.39 (SDHamilton = 6.00), and a MDASS‐depression = 21.02 (SDDASS = 9.36). Conclusion: This trial will provide important information regarding the benefits of adding yoga‐based interventions to TAU for young women with MDD and the mechanisms through which such benefits may occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]