1.Sudarshan Kriya For Male Patients With Psycho Active Substance Dependence: A Randomized Control Trial
Pankaj Sureka ; Sandeep Govil ; Debadutta Dash ; Chandika Dash ; Mukesh Kumar ; Vikas Singhal
ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry 2015;16(1):28-37
Objectives: The aims of the study were to investigate whether Sudarshan Kriya
(SK), a form of Yoga and related practices can lead to increased Global
Assessment of Functioning (GAF) and increased feeling of wellness in patients
with substance dependence. Method: This was a 3-month single blind parallel
randomized controlled study with sample size of 111 patients which were
allocated by simple randomization to two groups. Study subjects were involved
in an intensive program of Sudarshan Kriya and practices (SK&P) which they
practised daily for 6 weeks. The control subjects were instructed to sit in an
armchair with their eyes closed and pay gentle attention to their breath. A
period sample of three months consisting of all patients admitted in De-addiction
(DAC) ward fulfilling study criteria was taken. Only male patients diagnosed to
be suffering from Substance Dependence by ICD-10 (DCR) criteria, aged
between 18-65 years were included in this study. The assessment tools were the
Basic Socio-demographic Performa, Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE),
Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS), Schedule for Clinical Assessment in
Neuropsychiatry (SCAN) based clinical interview, Global Assessment of
Functioning (GAF) and Psychological General Well Being (PGWB). These
assessments were conducted before starting the intervention and six weeks
thereafter. Results: In the final analysis, number of participants analyzed in the
study group was 55 and in the control group was 56. Majority of subjects were
unemployed, married individuals who did not have occupational skills of more
than skilled labour level. After six weeks of SK&P, statistically significant
improvement in study subject dimensional scores of GAF (48.43+/- 0.08 to
66.77+/-0.14), Anxiety (ANX) (9.64+/-0.52 to 15.66+/-0.38), Depressed Mood
(DEP)(7.19+/-0.2 to 9.18+/-0.37), Positive Well Being (PWB)(10.28+/-0.61 to
12.92+/-0.73), General Health (GH)(7.74+/-0.18 to 9.75+/-0.22) and Total
PGWB(41.46+/-0.35 to 59.28+/-0.63) were noticed. However, when compared
with control subjects, improvement was statistically significant in the case of
GAF (p=0.000158), Anxiety (ANX)(p=0.011), Positive Well Being
(PWB)(p=0.02), General Health (GH)(p=0.02) and Total PGWB(p=0.05); but not
in the case of Depressed Mood (DEP), Self Control (SC) and Vitality.
Conclusion: Practicing SK&P helps in improving Global Assessment of
Functioning, Psychological General Well Being, General Health (GH) and
positive well being of an individual. SK&P also causes significant reduction in
anxiety levels of an individual.