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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Jun 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Psychosom Res. 2009 Mar 3;66(6):511–519. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2008.12.003

Table II.

Characteristics of Users of Mind-Body Therapies *

MBT Therapies

NHIS
sample
MBT users
overall
Relaxation
techniques
Yoga Tai Chi

Sample Size 31,044 5,170 4,426 1,593 403
Estimated population 205,825,095 34,065,029 29,220,490 10,386,456 2,564,584
size
Weighted % 17 14 5 1
Age (years)
 18-29 22 23 22 26 24
 30-39 20 21 20 27 19
 40-49 21 24 24 23 18
 50-64 21 23 25 20 24
 >65 16 9 9 4 15
Sex
 Female 52 64 63 76 56
Race
 NH White 73 77 76 81 71
 Hispanic 11 7 8 6 9
 NH Black 11 10 11 6 10
 Asian 4 4 4 5 7
Education§
 < H.S. Graduate 16 7 8 3 6
 H.S. Graduate 30 22 23 15 16
 Some College 28 34 34 31 35
 ≥College 24 37 35 50 44
 Graduate
Income
 <$20,000 18 15 16 11 17
 $20,000-$35,000 28 25 26 23 25
 $35,000-$65,000 22 23 23 22 19
 >$65,000 26 33 32 41 37
Region of Residence
 Northeast 19 19 19 23 24
 Midwest 24 26 28 24 23
 South 37 31 30 27 23
 West 19 24 24 26 29
Marital Status
 Married 58 54 54 55 47
 Single 20 21 20 24 26
 Widowed 6 4 4 2 4
 Divorced or
 Separated
10 14 15 12 15
Place of Birth
 United States
86 89 90 88 88
Insurance Type
 Uninsured 15 13 14 12 15
 Medicare 17 11 12 4 15
 Medicaid 5 4 4 3 4
 Private, HMOII 23 26 26 27 24
 Private, FFS 28 32 31 40 29
Smoking Status
 Never 54 52 50 59 57
 Former 22 25 25 24 24
 Current 22 23 24 17 19
Physical Activity#
 Sedentary 39 20 22 10 18
 Moderate 22 25 25 25 18
 Vigorous 38 54 53 65 63
Alcohol Intake**
 Abstainer 22 14 14 9 15
 Rare 27 29 31 21 29
 Light 28 36 35 44 38
 Moderate 14 16 15 18 14
 Heavy 5 6 5 7 4
Medical Conditions
Pain Syndromes (in
past 3 months)
 Face pain 5 10 11 10 10
 Neck pain 14 24 25 22 23
 Joint pain†† 25 34 37 27 30
 Severe headache 15 24 26 21 19
 Low back pain 26 36 38 31 35
 Dental pain †† 13 18 19 15 19
Psychiatric
(in past 12 months)
 Anxiety/
 Depression
16 24 26 20 20
 Insomnia 17 28 30 21 27
Other Conditions
(history of)
 Food or odor
 allergy‡‡
7 13 13 12 17
 Bowel disease 6 9 10 7 9
 Irregular
 heartbeat
9 13 14 8 13
 Thyroid disease 7 10 10 8 9
 Hypertension 24 23 24 13 19
 COPDa 6 7 7 4 5
*

All prevalence rates are reported as percentages and are weighted to reflect national estimates

NHIS complex sampling scheme allows for estimates of United States population

NH=Non-Hispanic

§

H.S.=High School

II

HMO=Health Maintenance Organization

FFS=Fee For Service

#

Physical activity levels: Vigorous= vigorous activity 2 times/wk or moderate activity 4 times/wk; moderate= vigorous activity 1 time/wk or moderate activity 1-3 times/wk, sedentary=no vigorous or moderate activity/week

**

Alcohol intake: abstainer (<12 drinks in lifetime), rare (<1 drink/month in past year), light (≤ 3 drinks/week), moderate (>3 and ≤ 7 drinks/ week for women, >3 and ≤ 14 drinks/week for men), or heavy (>7 drinks/week for women and >14 drinks/week for men)

††

Joint pain lasting at least 3 months

‡‡

Diagnosed within the past 12 months

a)

COPD= Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease