Yoga program may reduce depression and anxiety in women with cancer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A program that combines yoga and psychological tools in a group therapy setting may help reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in women with some common cancers, a new UF Health Cancer Center study found.

The results of the clinical trial, published recently in the journal Integrative Cancer Therapies, showed the integrated yoga and psychological intervention eased some symptoms of cancer-related distress, especially in women of color.

“Quality of life during and beyond cancer treatment is a critical component of whole-person cancer care,” said Elizabeth Kacel, Ph.D., who co-led the new study with Grace Ann Hanvey, Ph.D. Both are recent graduates of the clinical psychology doctoral program in the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions who were mentored by Deidre B. Pereira, Ph.D., the study’s senior author and a UF Health Cancer Center member.

Patients with cancer are increasingly interested in therapies that improve their quality of life, including yoga, acupuncture, or massage, said Kacel, who’s now a clinical health and cancer psychologist at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center.

In the new study, 125 patients were enrolled in a 10-week, in-person, group intervention that used breathing and relaxation techniques, mindfulness meditation, psychotherapy skills, and gentle yoga aimed at improving physical and mental quality of life.

Yoga and psychotherapy use similar techniques to reduce stress and promote wellness but take a different approach.

“The combination of both perspectives provides a powerful foundation that patients can stand on in coping with the ups and downs of cancer survivorship,” Kacel said.

The authors focused on women with gynecologic, gastrointestinal, and thoracic cancers. Little research has been done on the role of such interventions in these types of cancer.

Of the 125 women enrolled, 51 contributed data to the study and were included in analyses. Women reported lower depression and anxiety symptoms after the intervention than before. The researchers measured symptoms using a series of questionnaires that are used nationwide.

Notably, women of color, who are underserved in cancer care, had greater declines in physical symptoms of depression than non-Hispanic White women. Women of color with lower socioeconomic status — a combination of education level, income as a percentage of the federal poverty line, and recent employment status — reported the greatest reduction in physical symptoms, the study said.

Often, mental health interventions overlook such physical symptoms, but the new intervention could be a particularly valuable tool for addressing those health disparities, the researchers said.

Kacel noted yoga is for anyone willing to give it a try, no matter what their ability is.

“A wellness intervention that integrates yoga and psychological tools may strengthen the connections among the mind, body, and spirit, leading to a better and more meaningful quality of life,” said Pereira, an associate professor and associate chair for postgraduate studies in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology.

Next, the team plans to study whether the intervention shows promise in improving sleep, fatigue, mindfulness, self-compassion, and gratitude. They also plan to evaluate the treatment’s feasibility and the barriers to participating, with an eye on ensuring it meets the needs of underserved women. Then the team will test it in a larger, randomized controlled trial.

The study was funded through pilot grants from the UF Health Cancer Center. In 2016, Kacel received one of the center’s Predoctoral Awards to conduct a pilot study on how yoga can reduce fear in patients with gynecologic cancers, which paved the way for the new study.