Center for Population and Health, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA.
J Altern Complement Med. 2012 Jul;18(7):653-61. doi: 10.1089/acm.2010.0598. Epub 2012 Jul 9.
To compare the effects of relaxation practice and other exercise on a multisystem measure of physiologic dysregulation in a national sample of older Taiwanese.
The study was a cross-sectional survey.
SETTINGS/LOCATION: The study was conducted in Taiwan.
A population-based sample of 1036 adults aged 53 and older completed an in-home interview and in-hospital physical examination. The final model is based on 934 respondents with complete data.
The outcome measures were overall dysregulation, based on 26 biomarkers, and subscores for cardiovascular/metabolic risk factors and inflammatory markers.
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.
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.
比较放松练习和其他运动对台湾老年人群多系统生理失调的影响。
本研究为横断面调查。
本研究在台湾进行。
完成家庭访谈和住院体检的 1036 名 53 岁及以上的成年人组成了基于人群的样本。最终模型基于有完整数据的 934 名受访者。
基于 26 项生物标志物的整体失调和心血管/代谢危险因素和炎症标志物的亚评分。
调整年龄和性别后，与非练习者相比，放松技术的练习者整体失调低 0.35 个标准差。运动的效果较小：经常运动和不运动的人之间有 0.19 个标准差的差异。在存在社会人口特征、用药和广泛的自我报告和访谈评估健康指标的控制的情况下，放松练习和有规律运动的效果相似，炎症的效果相似，但心血管/代谢危险因素的效果较小。放松练习的效果（整体失调为 0.19 个标准差）减弱但仍然很大；有规律的运动具有相当的效果（整体失调为 0.16 个标准差）。对于炎症亚评分，效果相似，但调整健康状况后，对于心血管/代谢危险因素，效果不显著。
在小型实验研究中证明的放松练习的生理益处，在日常生活中练习这些技术的台湾老年人群中也很明显。放松练习与较低水平的生理失调有关，特别是炎症。在这个老年人群样本中，其效果似乎至少与运动一样大。运动能力有限的老年人可能会特别欢迎此类信息。
