Breath restored: yoga-based training lowers estimated lung age among individuals with opium dependence in a residential pre-post study

TL;DR

A month of breath-based yoga improved lung function and reduced estimated lung age in men with opium dependence.

Contribution

This study shows that yoga-based training can improve pulmonary function in individuals with chronic opium use.

Findings

Lung function metrics like FVC and PEFR increased significantly after a month of yoga.

Estimated lung age decreased by an average of 6.72 years following the intervention.

No serious adverse events were reported during the study.

Abstract

Chronic opium use is associated with respiratory impairment and increased risk of respiratory-related mortality. We evaluated whether a structured, breath-centred yoga programme could improve pulmonary function in men with opium dependence.

In this single-arm pre–post feasibility study, 38 men were enrolled during a 1-month residential de-addiction programme and 30 completers (mean age 43.5 ± 12.2 years) underwent spirometry at baseline and after a month of twice-daily, instructor-led breath-based yoga (pranayama, asana-linked breathing, and relaxation). Primary outcomes were within-group changes in forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), FEV1/FVC, peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), mid-expiratory flows, and estimated lung age; paired t-tests and Cohen’s d were used for inference.

The intervention was associated with statistically significant increases in FVC (2.76 ± 0.94 to 3.37 ± 0.73 L; mean change +0.61 L; p < 0.001; d = 0.88) and PEFR (4.45 ± 1.95 to 6.09 ± 1.97 L·s−¹; +1.64; p < 0.001; d = 0.84), and a moderate increase in FEV1 (2.34 ± 0.88 to 2.71 ± 0.79 L; +0.37; p = 0.011; d = 0.49). FEV1/FVC did not change significantly (85.65 ± 9.41% to 82.15 ± 17.55%; p = 0.404). Estimated lung age decreased by a mean of 6.72 years (47.96 ± 16.87 to 41.24 ± 14.00 years; p = 0.003; d = 0.59). No serious adverse events were reported.

A month of structured breath-based yoga produced clinically and statistically meaningful improvements in lung volumes, expiratory flow, and estimated lung age in men with chronic opium dependence. These pilot data support testing this culturally acceptable, low-cost intervention in larger, randomized trials to confirm efficacy, explore mechanisms, and determine durability.

CTRI/2025/07/089999

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