Global and Indian research trends on Yoga: Insights from WHO trial registry

Himel Mondal; Satya Lakshmi Komarraju; Sathyanath D; Shrikanth Muralidharan

doi:10.6026/973206300210030

Global and Indian research trends on Yoga: Insights from WHO trial registry

Bioinformation. 2025 Jan 31;21(1):30-34. doi: 10.6026/973206300210030. eCollection 2025.

Authors

Himel Mondal¹, Satya Lakshmi Komarraju², Sathyanath D³, Shrikanth Muralidharan⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Deoghar, Jharkhand - 814152, India.
² Director, National Institute of Naturopathy, Ministry of Ayush, Government of India, Pune - 411001, India.
³ National Institute of Naturopathy, Ministry of Ayush, Government of India, Pune - 411001, India.
⁴ Department of Research, National Institute of Naturopathy, Ministry of Ayush, Government of India, Pune - 411001, India.

Abstract

A retrospective analysis of 2919 yoga-related clinical trials registered in the World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform database using the keyword "yoga" on 10 September 2024 is of interest. Most trials were interventional (97.81%) and registered in the Clinical Trials Registry of India (56.39%) and ClinicalTrials.gov (26.07%). The majority included both genders (69.29%), with a mean age range of 23.9±13.45 to 56.21±24.66 years, focusing on chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, hypertension and mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. There was a steady increase in registrations over the years, reflecting the growing global interest in yoga research. Thus, the use of yoga as a therapeutic tool to support its integration into healthcare systems is highlighted.

Keywords: India; Yoga; chronic diseases; clinical trials; international clinical trials registry Platform (ICTRP); intervention; mental health; research trends; world health organization (WHO).