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
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
COPD= Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease