We evaluate the boundary of the Anthropocene geological time interval as an epoch, since it is useful to have a consistent temporal definition for this increasingly used unit, whether the presently informal term is eventually formalized or not. Of the three main levels suggested – an ‘early Anthropocene’ level some thousands of years ago; the beginning of the Industrial Revolution at ∼1800 CE (Common Era); and the ‘Great Acceleration’ of the mid-twentieth century – current evidence suggests that the last of these has the most pronounced and globally synchronous signal. A boundary at this time need not have a Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP or ‘golden spike’) but can be defined by a Global Standard Stratigraphic Age (GSSA), i.e. a point in time of the human calendar. We propose an appropriate boundary level here to be the time of the world's first nuclear bomb explosion, on July 16th 1945 at Alamogordo, New Mexico; additional bombs were detonated at the average rate of one every 9.6 days until 1988 with attendant worldwide fallout easily identifiable in the chemostratigraphic record. Hence, Anthropocene deposits would be those that may include the globally distributed primary artificial radionuclide signal, while also being recognized using a wide range of other stratigraphic criteria. This suggestion for the Holocene–Anthropocene boundary may ultimately be superseded, as the Anthropocene is only in its early phases, but it should remain practical and effective for use by at least the current generation of scientists.
We study gender differences in altruism by examining a modified dictator game with varying incomes and prices. Our results indicate that the question “which is the fair sex?” has a complicated answer—when altruism is expensive, women are kinder, but when it is cheap, men are more altruistic. That is, we find that the male and female “demand curves for altruism” cross, and that men are more responsive to price changes. Furthermore, men are more likely to be either perfectly selfish or perfectly selfless, whereas women tend to be “equalitarians” who prefer to share evenly.
OBJECTIVE:Identifying treatment moderators facilitates treatment matching and personalized medicine. No previous studies have investigated treatment moderators for a mindfulness-based versus traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorders to determine for whom each is most effective. The current study examined three putative moderators of principal anxiety disorder severity outcomes for adapted mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) and group CBT - baseline depression symptoms, anxiety sensitivity, and diagnostic severity.
METHOD:
Seventy-one patients with a DSM-IV anxiety disorder were randomized to adapted MBSR or group CBT and assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and 3-month follow up.
RESULTS:
CBT outperformed adapted MBSR among those with no to mild depressive symptoms and, at post-treatment only, among those with very high anxiety sensitivity. At follow up, adapted MBSR outperformed CBT among those with moderate to severe depressive symptoms and among those with average anxiety sensitivity (for this sample). Baseline severity affected post-treatment outcomes differently in CBT than in adapted MBSR.
CONCLUSION:
Baseline levels of depression, anxiety sensitivity, and to some extent diagnostic severity, differentially moderated outcomes in CBT and adapted MBSR for anxiety disorders. Recommendations and clinical implications are discussed.
BACKGROUND: Recent studies have highlighted the role of right-sided anterior temporal and prefrontal activation during anxiety, yet no study has been performed with social phobics that assesses regional brain and autonomic function. This study compared electroencephalograms (EEGs) and autonomic activity in social phobics and controls while they anticipated making a public speech.
METHODS: Electroencephalograms from 14 scalp locations, heart rate, and blood pressure were recorded while 18 DSM-IV social phobics and 10 controls anticipated making a public speech, as well as immediately after the speech was made. Self-reports of anxiety and affect were also obtained.
RESULTS: Phobics showed a significantly greater increase in anxiety and negative affect during the anticipation condition compared with controls. Heart rate was elevated in the phobics relative to the controls in most conditions. Phobics showed a marked increase in right-sided activation in the anterior temporal and lateral prefrontal scalp regions. These heart rate and EEG changes together accounted for > 48% of the variance in the increase in negative affect during the anticipation phase.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the hypothesis of right-sided anterior cortical activation during anxiety and indicate that the combination of EEG and heart rate changes during anticipation account for substantial variance in reported negative affect.
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We address the explicit ecocentric roots of conservation science and the support of a growing number of conservationists for ecocentric natural value. Although ecosystem‐services arguments may play an important role in stemming the biodiversity crisis, a true transformation of humanity's relationship with nature ought to be based in part on ecocentric valuation. Conservation scientists have played a leading role in initiating this transformation, and they ought to continue to do so.Since its inception in 1985, the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) has grown from a few hundred mainly North American members to over 5000 members in sections and chapters around the globe. The success of SCB is a truly positive development for biodiversity conservation; but as with any rapid expansion there can be growing pains. One recent example is the revival of the long‐standing debate over whether nature ought to be protected for its instrumental (anthropocentric) versus its intrinsic (nonanthropocentic or ecocentric) value (e.g., Soulé 2013; Kareiva 2014). The debate has intensified over the past few years, resulting in calls for inclusive conservation (Tallis et al. 2014) and new forms of valuation such as relational values (Chan et al. 2016). Many authors contend, however, that recognition of intrinsic natural value is a cornerstone of conservation (Vucetich et al. 2015; Batavia & Nelson 2017; Piccolo 2017) and the broader concept of sustainability (Washington et al. 2017a). Some of the leading founders of SCB, including Soulé (1985), Ehrenfeld (1978), and Noss (1996), explicitly expressed notions of intrinsic natural value, and today SCB (2017) still maintains, as its first organizational value, “[t]here is intrinsic value in the natural diversity of organisms, the complexity of ecological systems, and the resilience created by evolutionary processes.” Thus, the debate over the role of intrinsic value is more than an academic exercise. Given the seriousness of the biodiversity crisis (Steffen et al. 2015; Ceballos et al. 2017) and the key role SCB could play in helping create public awareness of this crisis, the direction we take now will likely have far‐reaching implications for the future of the biosphere.
The debate about why we ought to protect nature is much older than the field of conservation science. The oft‐cited rift between utilitarian Gifford Pinchot and preservationist John Muir in the early 20th century is perhaps the most well‐known example. They began in agreement over the establishment of large forest reserves in the United States but developed irreconcilable differences over whether the forests were mainly for timber harvest or wilderness preservation. Leopold (1949) recognized this distinction in “The Land Ethic,” wherein he perceived an “A‐B cleavage” within the disciplines of forestry, wildlife management, and agriculture. He noted that within each discipline some focused on utilitarian values (A), whereas others took a more nonutilitarian viewpoint (B), or in contemporary terms an ecocentric viewpoint (Callicott 2013). Leopold conceived his land ethic from this ecocentric perspective, and it is the basis for the modern eco‐evolutionary conservation ethic that recognizes intrinsic natural value (Rolston 2012; Callicott 2013). Although by 1985 environmental philosophers had developed formal arguments both for and against (Norton 2005) intrinsic natural value, SCB's founders explicitly included intrinsic value within the normative postulates of the organization (Soulé 1985). A shift toward a focus on anthropocentric valuation, therefore, would require a major reevaluation of conservation science's organizational values–is the field prepared for such a shift?
Perhaps proposing such a shift is not unexpected, given the popularization of the concept of ecosystem services. We are now said to live in own self‐styled geologic epoch, the Anthropocene (but see Callicott 2015; Rolston 2017). As often formulated, ecosystem services are based explicitly on anthropocentric valuation (i.e., services delivered to humans) (MEA 2005). Ecosystem services are appealing because they can be perceived as putting nature on an equal footing with business. For example, the monetary value of forests for carbon sequestration can be estimated or offsets can be proposed for biodiversity losses due to habitat destruction (but see, e.g., Spash 2015). Although there has been much discussion about how to put tangible values on ecosystem services, there are a growing number of conservationists who fear such anthropocentric valuation undermines the long‐term success of conservation (Washington et al. 2017a, 2017b). Conservation science has been a leading voice for the scientific rationale for preserving Earth's biodiversity, and many important international agreements have been reached on the establishment of protected areas (CBD 2017). Shall conservation scientists now wager that we stand a better chance of success if we shift our core values from protecting biodiversity in part for its own sake toward protecting it for the services it provides to humans? Worth noting is Ehrlich and Mooney's (1983) early formulation of ecosystem services:
“…we agree with Ehrenfeld (1978) that there are compelling reasons for preserving the biotic diversity of Earth regardless of any present or future discoveries made about the benefits people may receive from other organisms.”
Recent arguments that conservation ethics can be context dependent (Tallis et al. 2014) or are relational (Chan et al. 2016) have practical value. In the short term, all effective means must be employed to conserve biodiversity and prevent the collapse of ecosystem function. But the notion that anthropocentric valuation serves as a foundation for nature conservation or that ecocentric valuation is part of a dichotomy that may be included (or not), falls short of providing a lasting rationale for conserving Earth's biodiversity. Where would we be today if similar arguments had won out in 1948 when the UN was framing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Have ethical humans ever truly considered that other humans be protected for the services they provide while awaiting recognition of their universal rights? Can an honest rationale for equality be built on such inclusive or relational valuation theory? In the 30 years since SCB was founded, a generation of philosophers has developed a sound ecoevolutionary rationale for ecocentric valuation (Rolston 1975, 2012; Callicott 2013), one that formally recognizes that “…a land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land‐community to plain member and citizen of it” (Leopold 1949). Such ecocentric valuation places humans within the sphere of values shared by all life, intrinsic, relational, and instrumental (Piccolo 2017). Importantly, such values can be assigned to collectives (Callicott 2016) as well as to individual beings, providing a sound rational for species and ecosystem protection (Rolston 1985, 2012). Ecocentrism recognizes that although humans may be the only species capable of deep moral reflection, we are not the sole focus of moral worth (Curry 2011; Vetlesen 2015). A truly inclusive and lasting rationale for biodiversity conservation ought to maintain the recognition of the intrinsic value of human and nonhuman beings, species, and ecosystems. This entails on us the duty to protect biodiversity for its own sake as well as for ours—we ought to conserve biodiversity not only because it is right for us, but simply because it is right.
As with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, humanity may be transforming its worldview toward recognition of ecocentric value and the rights of nature. Bolivia's Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth is a well‐known example (http://therightsofnature.org). The UN has been slow to formally recognize ecocentric value (Washington et al. 2017a), but this may be changing; the UN Harmony with Nature Initiative explicitly expresses ecocentric values (Maloney 2017). Although we are a long way from universal acceptance of ecocentric valuation, we believe now is the time for conservation scientists to reaffrim their commitment to intrinsic natural value.
Transformation requires leadership. By unequivocally reaffirming its first organizational value, the SCB can help lead the transition to true sustainability, wherein the well‐being of all inhabitants of the biosphere, human and nonhuman alike, is considered. That which constitutes a good life for those of one species ought not to compromise the good lives of those of other species with which we share the planet. Over 600 scientists, scholars, conservationists, and citizens, among them some of the founders of the field of conservation, have recently added their signatures to a Statement of Commitment to Ecocentrism (Washington et al. 2017b). This is a hopeful sign that conservation scientists will continue to play a leading role in efforts to sustain Earth's wondrous biodiversity. We urge conservation professionals worldwide and SCB members in particular to think deeply about why we ought to conserve it.
Ecocentrism is the broadest term for worldviews that recognize intrinsic value in all lifeformsand ecosystems themselves, including their abiotic components. Anthropocentrism, in
contrast, values other lifeforms and ecosystems insofar as they are valuable for human
well-being, preferences and interests. Herein, the authors examine the roots of ecocentrism
and discuss its mixed history of international recognition. They argue that non-human
nature has intrinsic value irrespective of human preferences or valuation, and they refute
the claim that ecocentrism is misanthropic. They then summarize four key examples from
the academic literature in which anthropocentrism fails to provide an ethic adequate for
respecting and protecting planet Earth and its inhabitants. The authors conclude that
ecocentrism is essential for solving our unprecedented environmental crisis, arguing its
importance from four perspectives: ethical, evolutionary, spiritual and ecological. They
contend that a social transformation towards ecocentrism is not only an ethical but a
practical imperative, and they urge support for ecocentric understanding and practices.
At the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University, of which I am the founder and director, we have created programs and workshops whereby using science we promote the power of compassion and kindness to improve one’s health. At a recent workshop a participant who was going through cancer treatment shared how her world-renowned physician delivered her cancer diagnosis never looking her in the eye and explained her prognosis as a series of statistics and walked out abruptly. While a difficult situation itself, the physician compounded this by his less than empathetic manner that resulted in further pain to the patient potentially negatively affecting her prognosis. Stories such as this inspire our work at CCARE with clinicians to help them understand the power of the clinician-patient relationships on their patients’ health and give them tools to positively affect this relationship.
Although mindfulness has been generally linked to superior emotional functioning, several areas remain unclear. In extending prior work, the current report evaluated the link between trait mindfulness and physiological patterns of recovery from negative emotion and investigated possible associations between trait mindfulness and emotion differentiation. After completing a trait mindfulness measure, 80 healthy volunteers were block-randomized (matched on gender and relatively high versus relatively low trait mindfulness) to complete either emotional (EN) or neutral (NE) writing tasks first. In the EN order, participants wrote about an upsetting experience and, in the NE order, about the events of an average day. In partial support of expectation, relatively more mindful men showed greater physiological reactivity to an emotional task followed by superior recovery, but only in the EN order; supplementary analyses suggest that greater non-reactivity scores among males may be involved in the physiological regulation of emotional stress. As expected, relatively more versus relatively less mindful participants also differentiated more among discrete negative emotions but, again, only in the EN order. Taken together, findings offer preliminary evidence that the more differentiated emotional responding associated with aspects of trait mindfulness may facilitate more adaptive responding under stress and contribute to superior mental and physical health.
BACKGROUND: In recent years, labiaplasty has jumped in popularity, despite opposition to the procedure. In 2007, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists declared the recommendation of cosmetic vaginal procedures to be "untenable," although in 2016 they allowed consideration of labiaplasty in adolescents if symptoms persist. The reasons for labiaplasty requests are not yet fully understood, and physician opposition limits patient access to surgical relief. METHODS: In this prospective study, 50 consecutive patients consulting about labiaplasty were given a questionnaire assessing 11 physical and appearance-related symptoms associated with elongated labia. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 33.5 years (range, 17 to 51 years). Fifty-eight percent of women had given birth, 52 percent noticed that their labia had become elongated as they got older, and 93 percent had bilateral elongation. When asked about physical symptoms, over half of patients experienced tugging during intercourse, found tight pants uncomfortable, experienced twisting of the labia, and noted labia visibility in yoga pants. Nearly half experienced pain during intercourse, and 40 percent said their labia could become exposed in bathing suits. Regarding appearance, almost all patients were self-conscious and over half felt less attractive to their partner, experienced restricted clothing choice, and noted a negative impact on self-esteem and intimacy. Nearly all patients experienced at least four symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Most patients requesting labiaplasty experience both physical and appearance-related symptoms. Understanding this patient perspective is crucial in assessing surgical outcomes. Furthermore, the better all physicians understand labia symptomatology, the better supported patients will be in seeking surgical relief.
The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Mindfulness brings together the latest multi-disciplinary research on mindfulness from a group of international scholars: Examines the origins and key theories of the two dominant Western approaches to mindfulness Compares, contrasts, and integrates insights from the social psychological and Eastern-derived perspectives Discusses the implications for mindfulness across a range of fields, including consciousness and cognition, education, creativity, leadership and organizational behavior, law, medical practice and therapy, well-being, and sports 2 Volumes
<p>The book <em>On Becoming Aware</em> seeks a disciplined and practical approach to exploring human experience. While much of the book draws its inspiration from the phenomenological theories of Husserl, other approaches to the direct study of experience are also explored in depth.</p>
<p>One of these approaches is embodied by the world's spiritual or wisdom or contemplative traditions such as Sufism, Buddhism, the Philokalia tradition, and others. Collectively, these traditions have come upon a variety of their own insights and methods for understanding experience, or, to use words from the phenomenological tradition, has developed its own ways of <em>phenomenological reduction</em> Amongst the various wisdom traditions, the authors focus mainly on Buddhism. The authors give an introduction to Buddhist theory and history, followed by an in-depth discussion of the Buddhist contemplative practices of mindfulness, śamatha, vipaśyanā, tonglen (gtong len), lojong (blo sbyong), dzokchen (rdzogs chen), and mahāmudrā. The authors then relate this discussion to themes from philosophy and phenomenology explored earlier in the book, paricularly Husserl's concept of épochè. (Zach Rowinski 2005-01-17)</p>
Since 2009, the Working Group on the ‘Anthropocene’ (or, commonly, AWG for Anthropocene Working Group), has been critically analysing the case for formalization of this proposed but still informal geological time unit. The study to date has mainly involved establishing the overall nature of the Anthropocene as a potential chronostratigraphic/geochronologic unit, and exploring the stratigraphic proxies, including several that are novel in geology, that might be applied to its characterization and definition. A preliminary summary of evidence and interim recommendations was presented by the Working Group at the 35th International Geological Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, in August 2016, together with results of voting by members of the AWG indicating the current balance of opinion on major questions surrounding the Anthropocene. The majority opinion within the AWG holds the Anthropocene to be stratigraphically real, and recommends formalization at epoch/series rank based on a mid-20th century boundary. Work is proceeding towards a formal proposal based upon selection of an appropriate Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP), as well as auxiliary stratotypes. Among the array of proxies that might be used as a primary marker, anthropogenic radionuclides associated with nuclear arms testing are the most promising; potential secondary markers include plastic, carbon isotope patterns and industrial fly ash. All these proxies have excellent global or near-global correlation potential in a wide variety of sedimentary bodies, both marine and non-marine.
The World Health Organization formulated its definition of health following World War II, during a period when the social health of societies was in question. Since that definition in 1946, social scientists have dutifully followed its precepts and attempted to operationalize its concepts, including social well-being. But, American social scientists have found that psychosocial well-being may be a more accurate formulation of mental and social well-being, and they have questioned the reasonableness of a definition that requires complete health. It is proposed that scholars refine the WHO definition over the next several years, while at the same time creating bridges between a new conceptual definition and more detailed operational definitions. An expansion of the WHO definition may be necessary to include a spiritual dimension of health if social scientists can agree that spirituality is part of health and not merely an influence.
"Children (and adults) live in a fast-paced, demanding and stressful world. It is often difficult to slow-down our children's minds and bodies. This book was written to teach children to take a pause in their lives, to stop activity, to understand quiet time, and to think about what they are doing and where they are going"--
"Children (and adults) live in a fast-paced, demanding and stressful world. It is often difficult to slow-down our children's minds and bodies. This book was written to teach children to take a pause in their lives, to stop activity, to understand quiet time, and to think about what they are doing and where they are going"--
Amidst the many voices clamoring to interpret the environmental crisis, some of the most important are the voices of religious traditions. Long before modernity's industrialism began the rape of Earth, premodern religious and philosophical traditions mediated to untold generations the wisdom of living as a part of nature. These traditions can illuminate and empower wiser ways of postmodern living.The original writings included in Worldviews and Ecology creatively present and interpret worldviews of major religious and philosophical traditions on how humans can live more sustainably on a fragile planet.
Insights from traditions as diverse as Jain, Jewish, ecofeminist, deep ecology, Christian, Hindu, Bahai, and Whiteheadian will interest all who seek an honest analysis of what religious and philosophical traditions have to say to a modernity whose consciousness and conscience seems tragically narrow, the source of attitudes that imperil the biosphere.
BACKGROUND: Haematological malignancies are malignant neoplasms of the myeloid or lymphatic cell lines including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma. In order to manage physical and psychological aspects of the disease and its treatment, complementary therapies like yoga are coming increasingly into focus. However, the effectiveness of yoga practice for people suffering from haematological malignancies remains unclear.OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of yoga practice in addition to standard cancer treatment for people with haematological malignancies.
SEARCH METHODS: Our search strategy included the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE (1950 to 4th February 2014), databases of ongoing trials (controlled-trials.com; clinicaltrials.gov), conference proceedings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society of Hematology, the European Haematology Association, the European Congress for Integrative Medicine, and Global Advances in Health and Medicine. We handsearched references of these studies from identified trials and relevant review articles. Two review authors independently screened the search results.
SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of yoga in addition to standard care for haematological malignancies compared with standard care only. We did not restrict this to any specific style of yoga.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently extracted data for eligible studies and assessed the risk of bias according to predefined criteria. We evaluated distress, fatigue, anxiety, depression and quality of sleep. Further outcomes we planned to assess were health-related quality of life (HRQoL), overall survival (OS) and adverse events (AE), but data on these were not available.
MAIN RESULTS: Our search strategies led to 149 potentially relevant references, but only a single small study met our inclusion criteria. The included study was published as a full text article and investigated the feasibility and effect of Tibetan Yoga additional to standard care (N = 20; 1 person dropped out before attending any classes and no data were collected) compared to standard care only (N = 19). The study included people with all stages of Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, with and without current cancer treatment. The mean age was 51 years.We judged the overall risk of bias as high as we found a high risk for performance, detection and attrition bias. Additionally, potential outcome reporting bias could not be completely ruled out. Following the recommendations of GRADE, we judged the overall quality of the body of evidence for all predefined outcomes as 'very low', due to the methodical limitations and the very small sample size.The influence of yoga on HRQoL and OS was not reported. There is no evidence that yoga in addition to standard care compared with standard care only can improve distress in people with haematological malignancies (mean difference (MD) -0.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) -5.55 to 4.95; P = 0.91). Similarly, there is no evidence of a difference between either group for fatigue (MD 0.00, 95% CI -0.94 to 0.94; P = 1.00), anxiety (MD 0.30, 95% CI -5.01 to 5.61; P = 0.91) or depression (MD -0.70, 95% CI -3.21 to 1.81; P = 0.58).There is very low quality evidence that yoga improves the overall quality of sleep (MD -2.30, 95% CI -3.78 to -0.82; P = 0.002). The yoga groups' total score for the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was 5.8 (± 2.3 SD) and better than the total score (8.1 (± 2.4 SD)) of the control group. A PSQI total score of 0 to 5 indicates good sleep whereas PSQI total score 6 to 21 points towards significant sleep disturbances. The occurrence of AEs was not reported.
AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: The currently available data provide little information about the effectiveness of yoga interventions for people suffering from haematological malignancies. The finding that yoga may be beneficial for the patients' quality of sleep is based on a very small body of evidence. Therefore, the role of yoga as an additional therapy for haematological malignancies remains unclear. Further high-quality randomised controlled trials with larger numbers of participants are needed to make a definitive statement.
Familial caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease exhibit reduced quality of life and increased stress levels. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of an 8-week yoga and compassion meditation program on the perceived stress, anxiety, depression, and salivary cortisol levels in familial caregivers. A total of 46 volunteers were randomly assigned to participate in a stress-reduction program for a 2-month period (yoga and compassion meditation program—YCMP group) () or an untreated group for the same period of time (control group) (). The levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and morning salivary cortisol of the participants were measured before and after intervention. The groups were initially homogeneous; however, after intervention, the groups diverged significantly. The YCMP group exhibited a reduction of the stress (), anxiety (), and depression () levels, as well as a reduction in the concentration of salivary cortisol (). Our study suggests that an 8-week yoga and compassion meditation program may offer an effective intervention for reducing perceived stress, anxiety, depression, and salivary cortisol in familial caregivers.
OBJECTIVES: Cancer survivors often report cognitive problems. Furthermore, decreases in physical activity typically occur over the course of cancer treatment. Although physical activity benefits cognitive function in noncancer populations, evidence linking physical activity to cognitive function in cancer survivors is limited. In our recent randomized controlled trial, breast cancer survivors who received a yoga intervention had lower fatigue and inflammation following the trial compared with a wait list control group. This secondary analysis of the parent trial addressed yoga's impact on cognitive complaints. METHODS: Posttreatment stage 0-IIIA breast cancer survivors (n = 200) were randomized to a 12-week, twice-weekly Hatha yoga intervention or a wait list control group. Participants reported cognitive complaints using the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial Cognitive Problems Scale at baseline, immediately postintervention, and 3-month follow-up. RESULTS: Cognitive complaints did not differ significantly between groups immediately postintervention (p = 0.250). However, at 3-month follow-up, yoga participants' Breast Cancer Prevention Trial Cognitive Problems Scale scores were an average of 23% lower than wait list participants' scores (p = 0.003). These group differences in cognitive complaints remained after controlling for psychological distress, fatigue, and sleep quality. Consistent with the primary results, those who practiced yoga more frequently reported significantly fewer cognitive problems at 3-month follow-up than those who practiced less frequently (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that yoga can effectively reduce breast cancer survivors' cognitive complaints and prompt further research on mind-body and physical activity interventions for improving cancer-related cognitive problems.
The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of yoga (physical activity) versus social support (verbal activity) on prenatal and postpartum depression. Ninety-two prenatally depressed women were randomly assigned to a yoga or a social support control group at 22 weeks gestation. The yoga group participated in a 20-min group session (only physical poses) once per week for 12 weeks. The social support group (a leaderless discussion group) met on the same schedule. At the end of the first and last sessions the yoga group reported less depression, anxiety, anger, back and leg pain as compared to the social support group. At the end of the last session the yoga group and the support group did not differ. They both had lower depression (CES-D), anxiety (STAI), and anger (STAXI) scores and improved relationship scores. In addition, cortisol levels decreased for both groups following each session. Estriol and progesterone levels decreased after the last session. At the postpartum follow-up assessment depression and anxiety levels were lower for both groups.
The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of yoga (physical activity) versus social support (verbal activity) on prenatal and postpartum depression. Ninety-two prenatally depressed women were randomly assigned to a yoga or a social support control group at 22 weeks gestation. The yoga group participated in a 20-min group session (only physical poses) once per week for 12 weeks. The social support group (a leaderless discussion group) met on the same schedule. At the end of the first and last sessions the yoga group reported less depression, anxiety, anger, back and leg pain as compared to the social support group. At the end of the last session the yoga group and the support group did not differ. They both had lower depression (CES-D), anxiety (STAI), and anger (STAXI) scores and improved relationship scores. In addition, cortisol levels decreased for both groups following each session. Estriol and progesterone levels decreased after the last session. At the postpartum follow-up assessment depression and anxiety levels were lower for both groups.
Breast cancer survivors have limited options for the treatment of hot flashes and related symptoms. Further, therapies widely used to prevent recurrence in survivors, such as tamoxifen, tend to induce or exacerbate menopausal symptoms. The aim of this preliminary, randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the effects of a yoga intervention on menopausal symptoms in a sample of survivors of early-stage breast cancer (stages IA-IIB). Thirty-seven disease-free women experiencing hot flashes were randomized to the 8-week Yoga of Awareness program (gentle yoga poses, meditation, and breathing exercises) or to wait-list control. The primary outcome was daily reports of hot flashes collected at baseline, posttreatment, and 3 months after treatment via an interactive telephone system. Data were analyzed by intention to treat. At posttreatment, women who received the yoga program showed significantly greater improvements relative to the control condition in hot-flash frequency, severity, and total scores and in levels of joint pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, symptom-related bother, and vigor. At 3 months follow-up, patients maintained their treatment gains in hot flashes, joint pain, fatigue, symptom-related bother, and vigor and showed additional significant gains in negative mood, relaxation, and acceptance. This pilot study provides promising support for the beneficial effects of a comprehensive yoga program for hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms in early-stage breast cancer survivors. © 2009 Springer-Verlag.
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