Effectiveness of Yoga therapy as an adjunct on Mental health status, quality of life and medication adherence among People Living with HIV on Antiretroviral therapy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

People living with HIV (PLHIV) often experience major psychological challenges such as anxiety, depression, and stress, which are worsened by the stigma, social isolation, and chronic nature of the disease (HIV), impacting both their mental health, quality of life (QoL) and medication adherence.While antiretroviral therapy (ART) effectively increases the lifespan of people living with HIV (PLHIV) and controls viral replication, it does not directly focus on the psychological burden or quality of life, emphasizing the need for holistic and comprehensive interventions in addition to ART.Yoga has demonstrated benefits in improving psychological well-being and quality of life in the HIV seronegative population.However, there are several gaps in the current literature on yoga interventions for PLHIV.First, there is significant heterogeneity in the forms of yoga (e.g., Hatha, Integrated, Sudarshan Kriya) and durations (ranging from 6 days to 20 weeks)used in the existing studies, making it difficult to determine which specific practices are most effective for improving psychological outcomes, quality of life (QOL). Second, theseyoga-based studies have been pilot trials or conducted with small sample sizes and short follow-up periods,resulting in inconsistent findings on depression, anxiety, and quality of life. Furthermore, none of the previous studies investigatedthe effect of yoga interventions on medication adherence in people living with HIV.This is the first study aimed at assessing the effectiveness of yoga as an adjunct therapy . on the psychological outcomes, quality of life and medication adherence of people living with HIV.