Eyuboglu F; Inal-Ince D; Karamancioglu B;Vardar-Yagli N; Kaya-Utlu D; Dalkilic O; Somay G;

Heart & lung : the journal of critical care [Heart Lung] 2023 Aug 01; Vol. 62, pp. 157-167.
Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Aug 01.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) causes a decrease in aerobic capacity, respiratory muscle strength, and cognitive function, negatively affecting health-related quality of life.
Objectives: This study aimed to compare aerobic capacity, respiratory muscle strength, cognitive performance, functional capacity, sleep quality and daytime sleepiness in OSAS patients practicing and not practicing tele-yoga (TY).
Methods: 44 OSAS patients (40 M, 4F) were randomized into TY and control groups. TY group underwent live synchronous group-based TY sessions, 60 min/day, three days/week, for 12 weeks. Control group performed unsupervised thoracic expansion exercises at home 4 times daily for 12 weeks. The following were evaluated at baseline and at the end of the 6th and 12th weeks: inspiratory and expiratory respiratory muscle strength (MIP, MEP), cardiopulmonary exercise test, Corsi Block Tapping Test (CBTT) and Stroop TBAG test, six-minute walk test (6MWT), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS).
Results: TY significantly improved MIP, and exercise test parameters (VE, HR _max ,%HR, heart rate recovery in the first minute and RQ _max ), CBTT (forward) and Stroop TBAG test scores (parts of 3,4,5) compared to the controls (p<0.05). There were no significant changes 6MWT in the TY group compared to the control group (p > 0.05). Sleep duration (min), sleep efficiency, sleep quality of PSQI and ESS score improved significantly in the TY group compared to the control group (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: We suggest including TY intervention as a method of exercise in addition to CPAP treatments since it improves the health-related parameters of OSAS patients.