Reduce Complications from Type-2 Diabetes with a Yoga Lifestyle
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.
“Yoga can be used as an effective therapy in reducing oxidative stress in type 2 diabetes. Yoga in addition to standard care helps reduce BMI and improve glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients.” – Shreelaxmi V Hegde
Diabetes is a major health issue. It is estimated that 30 million people in the United States and nearly 600 million people worldwide have diabetes, and the numbers are growing. Type-2 Diabetes results from a resistance of tissues, especially fat tissues, to the ability of insulin to promote the uptake of glucose from the blood. As a result, blood sugar levels rise producing hyperglycemia. Diabetes is heavily associated with other diseases such as cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, and circulatory problems leading to amputations. As a result, diabetes doubles the risk of death of any cause compared to individuals of the same age without diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is a common and increasingly prevalent illness that is largely preventable. One of the reasons for the increasing incidence of Type 2 Diabetes is its association with overweight and obesity which is becoming epidemic in the industrialized world. A leading cause of this is a sedentary lifestyle. Unlike Type I Diabetes, Type II does not require insulin injections. Instead, the treatment and prevention of Type 2 Diabetes focuses on diet, exercise, and weight control. Recently, mindfulness practices have been shown to be helpful in managing diabetes. A mindfulness practice that combines mindfulness with exercise is yoga and it has been shown to be helpful in the treatment of Type II Diabetes.
In today’s Research News article “A Prospective Study on Type-2 Diabetic Complications and Efficacy of Integrated Yoga: A Pan India 2017.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8558979/ ) Patil and colleagues recruited a large randomized cluster sample in India of adults with type-2 diabetes and had them complete a questionnaire regarding complications with the disease. They found that there were high incidence rates of complications including stroke, neuropathy, cardiac surgeries, kidney disease, eye diseases, claudication, and foot ulcers. The incidence of complications was generally higher in women than in men.
They then randomly assigned a subset of the sample to a no-treatment control condition or to yoga lifestyle intervention including the practice of yoga for an hour daily for 3 months along with dietary restrictions. They report that in comparison to baseline and the control group the group that practiced yoga and dietary restrictions had significant reduction in all of the types of complications.
These results are very encouraging. But the lack of an active control condition limits the conclusions that can be reached. Placebo and attentional effects are alternate explanations for the results. In addition, the complex yoga lifestyle intervention, involving many component parts, makes it impossible to know what component or combination of components were effective. Nevertheless, previous controlled research has demonstrated the yoga practice is effective in reducing the symptoms of type-2 diabetes. So, the present findings are likely due to the ability of yoga to reduce complications from type-2 diabetes.
This is an important conclusion as the complications of type-2 diabetes are very serious and produce serious medical conditions that often lead to death. The reduction in these complications produced by the yoga lifestyle should result in improvements in the health, longevity, and quality of life in patients with type-2 diabetes.
So, reduce complications from type-2 diabetes with a yoga lifestyle.
“yoga-based practices may have significant beneficial effects on multiple factors important in [type 2 diabetes] management and prevention, including glycemic control, insulin resistance, lipid profiles, body composition, and blood pressure. “ – Kim Innes
CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies
This and other Contemplative Studies posts are available on Twitter @MindfulResearch
Study Summary
Patil, S. S., Raghuram, N., Singh, A., Rajesh, S. K., Ahmed, S., & Hongasandra, N. (2021). A Prospective Study on Type-2 Diabetic Complications and Efficacy of Integrated Yoga: A Pan India 2017. Annals of neurosciences, 28(1-2), 21–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/09727531211016271
Abstract
Background:
Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) contributes to high mortality and morbidity because of its major complications related to kidney, heart, brain, and eyes. It also poses a high risk for mortality because of COVID-19. Studies suggest the possible implications of Yoga in delaying or attenuating such complications.
Methodology:
This was a pan-India multi centered cluster-randomized (4 level) two-armed trial in the rural and urban population of all populous states of India. Data were obtained using mobile app in all adults in the household of the selected clusters.
Results:
We report the diabetes related complications in 16623 adults (48% males, 52% females) from 65 districts (1 in 10 districts, 2011 census) of 29 (out of 35) states and Union Territories of India; mean age was 48.2 ± 12.46 years. Out of this 40% lived in rural and 62% in urban locations. In high risk diabetes individuals (scored ≥ 60 points on Indian diabetes risk score key), 18.0% had self-reported history of (peripheral neuropathy, 6.1% had h/o major strokes, 5.5% had minor strokes (transient ischemic episodes), 18.1% had lower limb claudication, 20.5% leg ulcers, 4.4% had h/o cardiac surgery, 4.8% angioplasty, and 15.1% had diabetes retinopathy. Complications were higher in rural than in urban areas, higher in people with extended duration of diabetes. Integrated yoga module for three months (one hour daily) showed significantly better reduction in symptoms related to complications as compared to control group (P < .001)
Conclusion:
The alarming high prevalence of complications in diabetes population calls for urgent action, where yoga may show the benefits in reduction of symptoms of complications.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8558979/