Following is the result of some research and findings of research paper -
The positive perception in quality of life may be due to the
fortified tranquil concentration in meditation. EEG studies
showed increasing h oscillating networks during meditation.11,12 Theta band power is related to orienting, attention,
memory, and affective processing.11,12,37 The increasing h
band power was observed to be correlated with experience
of happiness during meditation.11 Previous study also
showed lower perceived anxiety reported by individuals
with higher h power.38 When facing negative emotional
stimuli (such as viewing an adverse movie clip), nonmeditating controls experienced a heavier emotional workload, indicating by a greater c synchronization in EEG than
individuals who practice meditation.39 The better coping of
negative stimuli may contribute to a better-perceived quality
of life and greater reduction in anxiety in the meditation
than controls. Among self-reported hypertensive patients, at
baseline, patients who practiced meditation had better
blood pressure control than patients who received conventional treatment. After treatment, systolic blood pressure decreased by 9.4 mm Hg in the meditation group. The
finding is of clinical and public health significance. High
blood pressure was the primary or contributing cause of
11.31% deaths in United States in 2003, and the estimated
direct and indirect cost of high blood pressure was $63.5
billion in 2006.40 If further validation of the effectiveness of
meditation on hypertension control is obtained, cost-effective intervention programs could result in significant lives
saved and savings to individuals. Hypertension is also a
major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke, and
it is estimated that a population-wide 2-mm Hg reduction
in diastolic blood pressure could prevent 6% risk of coronary heart disease and 15% risk of stroke or transient ischemic attack.41 Previous study showed that a 12 mm Hg
decrease in systolic blood pressure for 10 years was thought
to prevent 1 death for every 11 patients treated.42 The decrease in blood pressure associated with meditation treatment could potentially lead to decrease in cardiovascular
mortality and morbidity.
Table 4. Effect of Meditation on Anxiety Level and Blood Pressurea
Clinical anxiety
(n = 129)
Systolic blood pressure
(n = 41)
Diastolic blood
pressureb (n = 41)
Pulse
(n = 41)
R2 0.5539 0.8494 0.9326 0.7454
Parameters Est. p Est. p Est. p Est. p
Meditation (reference: controls) - 8.46 < 0.001 - 12.01 < 0.001 - 5.42 0.081
Meditation versus controls in hypertensive
patients with diabetes
- 12.32 < 0.001
Meditation versus controls in hypertensive
patients without diabetes
- 6.12 < 0.001
Baseline value 0.48 < 0.001 0.80 < 0.001 0.59 < 0.001 0.70 < 0.001
Self-reported history of type 2 diabetes - 0.32 0.77
a
Covariates in models for (1) systolic blood pressure and pulse: meditation and baseline value; (2) diastolic blood pressure: meditation
(stratified by type 2 diabetes), baseline value, history of type 2 diabetes; (3) clinical anxiety: meditation, baseline value, physical activity and
marital status. b
p-Value for interaction between meditation and self-reported history of type 2 diabetes on diastolic blood pressure: 0.0053; Est., estimated.
594 CHUNG ET AL.
The present study also showed that meditation was associated with greater decline in diastolic blood pressure compared
to conventional treatment. The rate of decline was greater for
patients with both hypertension and type 2 diabetes, with an
estimated 12 mm Hg reduction in diastolic blood pressure.
Hypertensive diabetic patients are at a greater risk of developing complications such as retinopathy43 and nephropathy.44
For patients with type 2 diabetes, tight blood pressure control
reduced by 32% the risk of diabetes-associated death, by 44%
the risk of stroke, and by 37% the risk of microvascular disease
than less tight control.45 While it requires three or more drugs
for patients with type 2 diabetes to control blood pressure,
meditation may be an effective lifestyle intervention for hypertension management.
The study was subject to several limitations. Because this
was an observational cohort study, participants were selfselecting into the study groups. It was possible that individuals who practice meditation regularly could response better
to treatment than controls. The distribution of confounders
between two study groups could not be balanced by randomization. Although results were adjusted for covariates
such as baseline quality-of-life values, duration of meditation,
and other confounders, between-group differences could still
exist. The small percentage of foreign patients recruited in the
study might influence the generalizability of the results. In
multivariate analysis, Indian nationality was associated withhigher psychologic quality of life than non-Indians. However,
the effect of meditation treatment versus controls was significant after controlling for country difference. The study evaluated the effect of meditation within the specific setting of the
Health Center, and the effect could be partly attributable to
the rigorous life in the Health Center. Doctors in the Health
Center also meditated, which could contribute to better health
care delivery and less perceived anxiety in patients. Quality oflife is best measured by self-report. The concern regarding
responses that were positive but not truthful was controlled in
the study by adjusting the tendency to provide socially desirable answers. The sample size of the hypertensive subgroup
was small; nevertheless, within-group or between-group differences in blood pressure were sufficient to result in reasonable power. The estimated post-hoc statistical power of
observing the 9.41 mm Hg decline in systolic blood pressure
was 62% in the study.
A common challenge in behavioral studies is the recruitment and retention of the participants. This challenge
did not hamper the current study, and the retention rate
was very high. Since the study period was brief (2-week
commitment from each subject), the burden of participation
was minimized.
Based on the finding of the study, we suggest future
investigations on the effect of Sahaja yoga meditation on
hypertension or hyperglycemia control. Another area for
investigation is derived from the observation that participants in the meditation group did not smoke or consume
alcohol; how meditation influences health behavior and interferes with disease progression is to be elucidated.
Conclusions
The current study reports that patients who receive Sahajayoga meditation treatment in conjunction with conventional
treatment benefit in perceived quality of life, anxiety, and
hypertension control. Further investigation on the effectiveness of Sahaja yoga meditation for managing chronic conditions, such as prehypertension, hypertension, and type 2
diabetes is recommended.
Acknowledgment
The study was sponsored by the travel grant of University
of Pittsburgh. The authors would like to express their gratitude to Dr. Isha Pandilwar (International Sahaja Yoga Research and Health Center), Drs. Prashant Salvi and Reshma
Vishnani (Mahatma Gandhi Mission Hospital) for their assistance with data collection, and Ms. Tracy Tischuk for editorial support.
Disclosure Statement
Dr. Sandeep Rai and Dr. Madhur Rai were both affiliated
with International Sahaja Yoga Research and Health Center.
References
1. Testa MA, Simonson DC. Assessment of qualit
reference -THE JOURNAL OF ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE
Volume 18, Number 6, 2012, pp. 589–596
ยช Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
DOI: 10.1089/acm.2011.0038
