Characteristics of yoga users: results of a national survey

This open-access article is from 2008, but offers excellent summary data. Published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine [2008 Oct;23(10):1653-8]; by Birdee GS, Legedza AT, Saper RB, Bertisch SM, Eisenberg DM, Phillips RS, from the Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies, Harvard Medical School, the study utilized "cross-sectional survey data from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Alternative Medicine Supplement (n = 31044)," to examine "correlates of yoga use for health. The estimated prevalence from 2002 NHIS of yoga for health was 5.1% corresponding to over 10 million adults. RESULTS: In 2002, yoga users were predominately Caucasian (85%) and female (76%) with a mean age of 39.5 years. Compared to non-yoga users, yoga users were more likely female (OR 3.76, 95% CI 3.11-4.33); less likely black than white (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.53-0.80); tended to be younger; and more likely college educated (OR 2.70, 95% CI 2.37-3.08). Musculoskeletal conditions (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.42-1.83), mental health conditions (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.22-1.67), severe sprains in the last 12 months (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.22-1.81), and asthma (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.05-1.54) were independently associated with higher yoga use, while hypertension (OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.64-0.95) and chronic obstructive lung disease (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.48-1.00) were associated with lower use." Abstract and article: PubMed.