USA: Mind and body practices, mainly yoga, improve blood sugar control in type 2 diabetes patients, a new study has shown. The blood sugar control achieved is similar to that achieved by medications such as metformin.
The study appeared in the Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine on September 7, 2022.
The researchers revealed that the overall mean reduction in HbA1c and fasting blood sugar was clinically significant, indicating that mind and body practices may be an effective, complementary nonpharmacological intervention for type 2 diabetes.

The hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) <7% target is achieved by only 51% of type 2 diabetes patients. Mind and body practices have been used increasingly for improving glycemic control in type 2 diabetes patients, but studies have shown conflicting efficacy. Considering this, Fatimata Sanogo, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA, USA, and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis and systematic review to examine the association between mind and body practices and mean change in fasting blood glucose and HbA1c in type 2 diabetes patients.
For this purpose, they conducted a literature search of online databases through June 10, 2022, of published articles on mind and body practices and type 2 diabetes. Two reviewers independently appraised the full text of the articles. Only intervention studies were included. Data for meta-analysis were extracted.
To calculate the mean differences and summary effect sizes, restricted maximum likelihood random-effects modeling was used. The heterogeneity was assessed using Cochran's Q and I2 statistics. For each outcome, funnel plots were generated to gauge publication bias. Weighted linear models were used for conducting stud-level meta-regression analyses of practice frequency.
The study demonstrated the following findings:
Five hundred eighty-seven articles were identified, and 28 met the inclusion criteria.
A statistically significant and clinically relevant mean reduction in HbA1c of −0.84% was estimated.
The reduction was observed in all intervention subgroups: mindfulness-based stress reduction: −0.48%, qigong: −0.66%, and yoga: −1.00%.
Meta-regression revealed that for every additional day of yoga practice per week, the raw mean HbA1c differed by −0.22% over the study period.
FBG significantly improved following mind and body practices, with an overall mean difference of −22.81 mg/dL.
The authors observed no significant association between the frequency of weekly yoga practice and change in FBG over the study period.
The results showed a strong association of mind and body practices including yoga with improvement in glycemic control in type 2 diabetes patients.
"A clinically significant overall mean reduction was seen in HbA1c and FBG, indicating mind and body practices may be an effective, complementary nonpharmacological intervention for type 2 diabetes," the researchers wrote in their conclusion. "Additional analyses showed that the mean decrease in HbA1c was higher in studies requiring a larger number of yoga practice sessions each week."
Reference:
Fatimata Sanogo, Keren Xu, Victoria K. Cortessis, Marc J. Weigensberg, and Richard M. Watanabe.Mind- and Body-Based Interventions Improve Glycemic Control in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine.ahead of print
http://doi.org/10.1089/jicm.2022.0586