Effect of 8-week Aerobic Exercise and Yoga Training on Depression, Anxiety, and Quality of Life among Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Objectives: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system that results in many symptoms including mobility limitation, fatigue, cognitive dysfunction and redacted quality of life. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of 8-weeks aerobic and yoga training on depression, anxiety and quality of life in individuals with MS. Methods: 31 women with MS (mean of age of 34.15years) with Expanded Disability Status Scale scores 1.0 to 4.0, were randomly assigned to one of three groups lasting 8 weeks: treadmill training, yoga or a waiting-list control group. Treadmill training consisted of 8 weeks (24 sessions) of treadmill training (30 minutes), at 40-75% of age-predicted maximum heart rate. Yoga group subjects participated in a thrice weekly 60-70 minute sessions of Hatha yoga intervention for 8 weeks. The control group followed their own routine treatment program. Depression, anxiety and quality of life were measured by Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 questionnaire (MSQOL-54) respectively. Data were analyzed by MANOVA, Tukey and paired t-tests. Results: Results indicated that intervention has improved significantly BDI score, BAI score and some MSQOL-54 scale scores in the treadmill training group and yoga group. There were significant differences between treadmill training group and yoga group in BAI score and MSQOL-54 scale scores. Discussion: These results suggest that treadmill training and yoga practice improved depression, anxiety and quality of life in people with mild to moderate MS.