Subjects: A population-based sample of 1036 adults aged 53 and older completed an in-home interview and inhospital
physical examination. The final model is based on 934 respondents with complete data.
Outcome measures: The outcome measures were overall dysregulation, based on 26 biomarkers, and subscores
for cardiovascular/metabolic risk factors and inflammatory markers.
Results: After adjustment for age and sex, overall dysregulation is 0.35 of a standard deviation (SD) lower for
practitioners of relaxation techniques compared with nonpractitioners. The effect of exercise is smaller: 0.19 SD
difference between those who exercise regularly and those who do not exercise. Similar effects of relaxation
practice and regular exercise were found on inflammation, but smaller effects for cardiovascular/metabolic risk
factors. In the presence of controls for sociodemographic characteristics, medication use, and a wide range of
self-reported and interviewer-assessed health indicators, the effect of relaxation practice is attenuated but remains
sizable (-0.19 of a SD for overall dysregulation); regular exercise has a comparable effect (-0.16 of a SD).
The effects are similar for the inflammation subscore, but not significant for cardiovascular/metabolic risk
factors after adjusting for health status.
Conclusions: The physiologic benefits of relaxation practice that have been demonstrated in small experimental
studies are also evident in the general population of older Taiwanese who practice these techniques in everyday
life. Relaxation practice is associated with lower levels of physiologic dysregulation, particularly with respect to
inflammation. Among this sample of older adults, the effect appears to be at least as large as that for exercise.
Older people with limited ability to engage in vigorous exercise may especially welcome such information
Results
There are several important sociodemographic differences
between practitioners of relaxation techniques and
nonpractitioners. Compared with their counterparts,
practitioners are more likely to be female and live in urban
areas and, on average, they are younger, better educated,
and have higher income (Table 2). Ethnicity, marital status,
and employment status are similar between the 2
groups.
Those who practice relaxation appear healthier than nonpractitioners
in a variety of ways. This is true not only for self
reported measures of medication use, physical functioning,
psychologic well-being, diabetes, and most other health
conditions, but also for interviewer-administered assessments
of cognitive function, lung capacity, and physical
mobility (Table 2).
Relaxation practice is also associated with lower levels of
physiologic dyregulation (Table 3). Overall, the mean score is
3.8 among practitioners compared with 5.4 for nonpractitioners.
That is, practitioners exhibit high risk levels for
1.6 fewer markers (out of 26) than their counterparts. The
inflammatory markers account for 44% of that difference,
although they represent less than one third (8/26) of all the
markers included in the overall measure.
This final model represents an overly stringent test because
part of the benefits of relaxation practice and exercise
may be reflected in health status. People who practice relaxation
techniques appear to be healthier than those who
do not (Table 2). By controlling for health status, the authors
hope to account for pre-existing differences between the 2
groups that could have led to selective use of relaxation
practices. Nonetheless, it is possible that these respondents
are healthier (and thus, present better physiologic profiles)
because of their relaxation practice. Thus, controlling for differences
in health status is likely to result in an underestimate
of the effect of relaxation practice.
Conclusions
Most people are well aware of the purported health benefits
of aerobic activity, yet knowledge of the benefits of relaxation
practice appears to be less pervasive. Older people
with limited ability to engage in vigorous exercise may especially
welcome such information. This study’s finding that
the effect of relaxation practices is as strong as that of exercise
may stem from the older age of this sample. The nature
of exercise at these ages may be less intense, and thus, the
effect observed may be weaker than corresponding effects at
younger ages. In any case, the potential benefits of behavioral
factors such as relaxation practice should not be underestimated.
If it came in a pill, everyone would take it.