Prevalence of mind and body exercises (MBE) in relation to demographics, self-rated health, and purchases of prescribed psychotropic drugs and analgesics.

Lina Rådmark,Walter Osika,Eva Bojner Horwitz,Linda L Magnusson Hanson,Jerson Laks

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0184635

Abstract

This study aims to identify any differences regarding gender, age, socioeconomic status (SES), self-rated health, perceived stress and the purchase of prescribed drugs among people who practice mind and body exercises (MBE) extensively compared to people who do not. Methods: The study includes 3,913 men and 4,803 women aged 20–72 who participated in the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH). The respondents were divided into three groups depending on frequency of MBE practice (never/seldom/often). Measures regarding MBE practice, health behaviors, self-rated health, and illnesses were drawn from the SLOSH questionnaire, while more objective measures of socioeconomic status and education were derived from registry data. In addition, data on purchases of prescription drugs for all respondents were included in the study. These data were obtained from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register, which contains information about prescription drugs dispensed at Swedish pharmacies. Separate analyses were performed for mental MBE (mindfulness, meditation, relaxation techniques) and physical MBE (yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong), respectively. Results: A high intensity MBE practice is cross-sectionally related to poor self-assessed health (sleeping problems, pain, depressive symptoms, mental disorders), high levels of stress, and high levels of purchases of psychotropic drugs and analgesics. These cross-sectional relationships are generally stronger for mental MBE than for bodily-directed MBE. More women than men are practicing MBE on a regular basis, and physically active people participate to a greater extent in MBE compared with the physically inactive. Conclusion: Overall, the study shows that frequent participation in mind and body exercises is associated with high levels of purchases of psychotropic drugs and analgesics as well as with poor self-assessed health and high levels of stress. However, since this is a cross-sectional study, it is impossible to establish cause and effect, and to further investigate the associations found; longitudinal studies that can account for temporality between covariates and MBE use are needed.

Highlights

The use of mind and body exercises (MBE) such as mindfulness, meditation, relaxation techniques, yoga, tai chi and qi gong in order to improve general health, reduce various kinds of pain, decrease stress and stress-related health problems, is common in the Western world [1, 2]
By analyzing data from an established epidemiological cohort including over 18,000 participants, combined with prescription data from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register, this study aimed to identify any differences regarding gender, age, socioeconomic status (SES), self-rated health, perceived stress, and the purchase of prescribed drugs, among people who practice MBE extensively compared to people who do not practice MBE
The results show several statistically significant differences regarding demographic characteristics, health behaviors, self-assessed general health, perceived stress, and drug treatment respectively between people who practice MBE extensively compared to people who do not practice MBE

Summary

Introduction

The use of mind and body exercises (MBE) such as mindfulness, meditation, relaxation techniques, yoga, tai chi and qi gong in order to improve general health, reduce various kinds of pain, decrease stress and stress-related health problems (e.g., anxiety, depression, pain, sleep problems), is common in the Western world [1, 2]. Some MBE techniques have been researched more extensively, and a recent meta-analysis by Goyal et al (JAMA 2014) shows that a mindfulness meditation program provides a significant improvement in anxiety, depression and pain [2]. This is consistent with findings in previous meta-analysis and review articles that indicate a small to medium effect of meditation and mindfulness on the reduction of, for example, stress, anxiety and depression [6,7,8,9]. High-quality controlled trials are still sparse [12]

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Methods

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Discussion

Conclusion