Influence of short term integrated approach of yoga therapy on quality of living in patients with Type II Diabetes Mellitus

Background: Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 is a very common disease worldwide. ‘Quality of life’ evaluation is an important measure for chronic disease management. Yoga and meditation are potential interventions as their use has been associated with a variety of physical and mental health benefits. Aims and Objectives: The aim was to investigate the influence of integrated approach of yoga on quality of living of diabetics by using Quality of life instrument for Indian diabetes patients (QOLID) questionnaire. Materials and Methods: In the month of July 2011, all known diabetics aged 40 years and above, coming to SVYASA AROGYADHAMA for Yoga therapy, willing to volunteer for the study and who understood English were included in the yoga group after taking written informed consent. All diabetics (n=31) who were enrolled in the study underwent Integrated Approach to yoga Therapy (IAYT) and were assessed on the first day and again after one week of yoga practice at Arogyadhama with Quality of life instrument for Indian diabetes patients (QOLID) questionnaire. Data thus obtained was analyzed using paired t-test. Institutional Ethical clearance was obtained for the study.  Results: The quality of living of diabetics significantly improved after yoga intervention with mean±SD (77.40±7.17) as compared to before yoga intervention (72.54±7.27) with p value < 0.001 with minor variations in diabetics with various complications. Conclusion: Short term integrated yoga practices can improve quality of living of diabetics and play a vital role in the management of diabetes. Key words: Diabetes Mellitus, Yoga, QOLID questionnaire, Quality of living