Association of Self Perception of Pre-Mature Ageing and Human Constitution (Prakriti) - A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Premature ageing is a process associated with a progressive accumulation of deleterious changes over time, an impairment of physiologic functions, an increase in the risk of disease and death. In Ayurveda, all human beings are categorised into basic sub-seven types based on their constitution. Along with this, ageing can be accelerated by lifestyle choices and environmental conditions to which our genes are exposed. The primary objective of the cross-sectional analysis was to find the association between prakriti and self-perception of premature ageing. Methodology: For the present study, a total of 100 participants, who were found positive for self-perception of pre-mature ageing and were fulfilling the other inclusion criteria, were eligible. The analysis of self-perception of pre-mature ageing was done by using The Brief Ageing Perception Questionnaire (B-APQ). The assessment of prakriti was done with a validated Prakriti Analysis Pro forma prepared by the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), New Delhi, India. Result: The prevalence of self-perception of pre-mature ageing was maximum among vata prakriti (58, 58%) and minimum in kapha prakriti (18, 18%). A significant association of male and female participants was found with three questions of B-APQ by applying Fisher Exact test. No significant association was found between the group of vata, pitta and kapha dominant prakriti with individual B-APQ on applying independent-samples Kruskal-Wallis test. As per descriptive analysis, vata prakriti individuals were more vulnerable to the self-perception of premature ageing as per B-APQ while kapha prakriti was the least. The distribution of individual B-APQ was the same across all categories of prakriti.