In January 2017, before the intervention period, a gynecologist (C.B.S.) who was blinded to the assigned intervention group assessed participants' weight, height, BMI, blood pressure, heart rate, waist and hip circumference, hirsutism (mFG score), and acne (face, chest, and back) in a physicians' office. Patients were asked about their menstrual cycle history and pattern (<25 days, 25-35 days, or >35 days), pregnancies, and any medications that they had taken within the past 6 months. Participants had peripheral venous blood collected while fasting to measure the following: glucose, insulin, adiponectin, free testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), DHEA sulfate (DHEA-S), androstenedione (A4), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), prolactin, thyroid-stimulating hormone, and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels. Patients completed secure online questionnaires for anxiety (Beck Anxiety Inventory [BAI], Pearson Global) and depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II [BDI-II], Pearson Global).
Postintervention measurements were taken in May 2017 for participants in both the control group and the mindful yoga intervention group (for those who regularly attended, defined as ≤2 classes each week), within 1 week after conclusion of the 3-month intervention. The mindful yoga intervention group participants also had their free testosterone, DHEA, and adiponectin measured again in August 2017, 3 months after conclusion of the 3-month intervention, to determine whether significant postintervention changes persisted over time.