Cost-effectiveness of yoga vs. strengthening exercise for treating knee OA: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of yoga vs. strengthening exercise for people with knee OA. Methods: A cost-utility analysis was conducted alongside a randomized controlled trial. Participants with symptomatic knee OA were randomized to 12 weeks of yoga or strengthening exercise. Costs were assessed from both societal and healthcare perspectives, including healthcare utilization, intervention delivery, medications, equipment, transport, and productivity losses. Health-related quality of life was measured using the EQ-5D-5L to calculate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Incremental costs and effects were estimated using seemingly unrelated regression with mult..