The Effect of a Yoga Lifestyle on QRISK3 Score Among Individuals at High Risk for Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of mortality and morbidity, and symptoms may not always be visible. Improved preventive strategies could reduce the burden of disease. Yoga is an accessible, affordable lifestyle modification program that has been shown to reduce cardiometabolic risk factors in individuals at high risk for cardiovascular disease. The present randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the effect of a yoga lifestyle encompassing diet on QRISK3 score in individuals at high risk for cardiovascular disease. For 6 months, participants (mean age 48.43 ± 6.40) underwent a yoga and diet intervention, the latter based on Asian Indian dietary guidelines. The 45-minute yoga sessions took place 6 days a week over 6 months. One-way analysis of variance was conducted to compare baseline, 3-month, and 6-month data. To determine the relationship between the variable and the QRISK3 score, a multivariate linear regression analysis was conducted in both the control and study groups. Following 6 months of the yoga and diet intervention, QRISK3 score decreased to 20.10 ± 7.05 from baseline values of 28.59 ± 10.15, a change that was statistically significant (p < 0.0001) in the study group. The QRISK3 score was found to be a dependent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (p < 0.001) in univariate linear regression analysis. For individuals who were at high risk for cardiovascular disease, significant independent risk factors were body mass index (β = −0.137, p = 0.034), systolic blood pressure (β = 0.208, p = 0.000), and total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein (β = 2.59, p = 0.042). This study’s findings suggest that a 24-week yoga lifestyle intervention (including diet) significantly decreased the QRISK3 score among individuals at high risk for cardiovascular disease compared to the control group.