Yoga, Meditation, Breathing Exercises, and Inflammatory Biomarkers with Possible Implications in COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Table 4
Subgroup analysis.
Parameters
Subgroups
No. of trials
Mean difference [95% CI]
Heterogeneity
Overall Effect
Q
I2 (%)
Z
Value
IL-6
Yoga-meditation-pranayama
4
−1.44 [−2.33, −0.55]
16.92
82
3.16
0.002
Meditation only
2
−0.21 [−0.42, 0.00]
0.00
0
1.92
0.05
Yoga only
2
−0.10 [−0.59, 0.38]
0.04
0
0.42
0.67
6–10 wk (<1000 min)
3
−1.08 [−2.94, 0.79]
2.12
92
1.13
0.26
8–12 wk (1000–2000 min)
2
−9.14 [−30.12, 11.84]
7.21
86
0.85
0.39
6–10 wk (>2000 min)
4
−0.26 [−1.35, 0.82]
107.66
97
0.48
0.63
Cortisol
Meditation only
2
−25.80 [−78.33, 26.73]
63.15
98
0.96
0.34
6–12 wk (1000–2000 min)
2
−40.75 [−64.13, −17.38]
7.83
87
3.42
0.0006
TNF-α
Yoga-meditation-pranayama
4
−3.00 [−6.20, 0.20]
42.08
93
1.84
0.07
10–12 wk (≤1080 min)
2
−2.46 [−11.40, 6.48]
1.89
47
0.54
0.59
8–12 wk (3000–4800 min)
3
−3.40 [−4.83, −1.98]
9.53
79
4.68
<0.0001
Interstudy heterogeneity was tested by using the Cochran Q statistic (Chi2) at a significance level of and quantified by the I2 statistic.
