Park Crystal L, Groessl Erik, Maiya Meghan, Sarkin Andrew, Eisen Susan V, Riley Kristen, Elwy A Rani
Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut Storrs, CT, United States.
Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, United States; The Health Services Research Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States.
Complement Ther Med. 2014 Oct;22(5):920-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2014.08.008. Epub 2014 Sep 4.
Comparison groups are essential for accurate testing and interpretation of yoga intervention trials. However, selecting proper comparison groups is difficult because yoga comprises a very heterogeneous set of practices and its mechanisms of effect have not been conclusively established.
We conducted a systematic review of the control and comparison groups used in published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of yoga.
We located 128 RCTs that met our inclusion criteria; of these, 65 included only a passive control and 63 included at least one active comparison group. Primary comparison groups were physical exercise (43%), relaxation/meditation (20%), and education (16%). Studies rarely provided a strong rationale for choice of comparison. Considering year of publication, the use of active controls in yoga research appears to be slowly increasing over time.
Given that yoga has been established as a potentially powerful intervention, future research should use active control groups. Further, care is needed to select comparison conditions that help to isolate the specific mechanisms of yoga's effects.
对照组对于准确测试和解释瑜伽干预试验至关重要。然而，选择合适的对照组很困难，因为瑜伽包含一系列非常多样化的练习方式，其作用机制尚未得到最终确定。
我们对已发表的瑜伽随机对照试验（RCT）中使用的对照组和比较组进行了系统评价。
我们找到了128项符合纳入标准的随机对照试验；其中，65项仅包括被动对照组，63项至少包括一个主动比较组。主要比较组为体育锻炼（43%）、放松/冥想（20%）和教育（16%）。研究很少为比较组的选择提供充分的理由。考虑到发表年份，瑜伽研究中主动对照组的使用似乎随着时间的推移在缓慢增加。
鉴于瑜伽已被确立为一种潜在的有效干预措施，未来的研究应使用主动对照组。此外，需要谨慎选择有助于分离瑜伽效果特定机制的比较条件。
