Brain, Behavior, and Immunity | 2019
Abstract # 3116 Yoga intervention protects breast cancer survivors against fatigue and poorer quality of life associated with a proinflammatory diet
Abstract
Among breast cancer survivors, a subset experiences persistent post-treatment fatigue and diminished quality of life. Chronic inflammation underlies fatigue, and mechanistic studies have demonstrated a link between proinflammatory dietary components (e.g., refined starches, sugar, trans-fats) and systemic inflammation. The Dietary Inflammatory Index predicts inflammation and some disease-related inflammatory outcomes. Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial examined whether a yoga intervention shielded breast cancer survivors from the fatigue and poorer quality of life associated with a proinflammatory diet. Breast cancer survivors (N\u202f=\u202f170) were randomized to either a 12-week, biweekly, 90-min hatha yoga intervention (n\u202f=\u202f84) or a waitlist control group (n\u202f=\u202f86). Women completed the Food Frequency Questionnaire at baseline and the Rand Health Assessment (SF-36) at baseline and a three-month follow-up. Controlling for age, sagittal abdominal diameter, chemotherapy treatment, yoga class cohort, and baseline values of outcome variables, an interaction emerged such that yoga negated the deleterious effects of a proinflammatory diet on fatigue (p\u202f=\u202f0.025) and on mental health (p\u202f=\u202f0.07). In the control group, women with a proinflammatory diet reported greater fatigue (p\u202f=\u202f0.025) and poorer mental health (p\u202f=\u202f0.024) compared to their peers with a less inflammatory diet; however, a proinflammatory diet was not associated with fatigue (p\u202f=\u202f0.45) or mental health (p\u202f=\u202f0.94) in the yoga group.