The treatment of cognitive deficits including dementias through the medical model has been limited due to high cost of therapy, adverse effects of the drugs used, and lack of efficacy in several cases. This chapter explored the association of yoga/meditation and moderate/vigorous physical activities with late-life cognitive functioning and the sex differences in those associations. The study was conducted on a sample of older adults aged 60 years or older, drawn from the baseline wave of Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (2017–2018). Significance level of bivariate associations between explanatory variables and outcome variable (overall cognitive score) was assessed using simple linear regression. Bar graphs and box plots are used to present the sex-stratified estimates. Multivariable linear regression was employed to test the study hypotheses. Older participants who practiced yoga/meditation reported moderate or vigorous physical activity in this study were associated with better cognitive function compared to their respective counterparts. Significant sex differences were also observed in these associations with a female disadvantage. Thus, it would be crucial for policymakers to advocate health-promotional programs such as yoga/meditation and physical exercises that enhance cognitive abilities of older individuals and women in particular and ensure active aging.

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Yoga/Meditation and Physical Exercises and Associated Cognitive Function Among Older Adults: Findings from Baseline Wave of the Longitudinal Aging Study in India

  • TV Sekher,
  • T. Muhammad

摘要

The treatment of cognitive deficits including dementias through the medical model has been limited due to high cost of therapy, adverse effects of the drugs used, and lack of efficacy in several cases. This chapter explored the association of yoga/meditation and moderate/vigorous physical activities with late-life cognitive functioning and the sex differences in those associations. The study was conducted on a sample of older adults aged 60 years or older, drawn from the baseline wave of Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (2017–2018). Significance level of bivariate associations between explanatory variables and outcome variable (overall cognitive score) was assessed using simple linear regression. Bar graphs and box plots are used to present the sex-stratified estimates. Multivariable linear regression was employed to test the study hypotheses. Older participants who practiced yoga/meditation reported moderate or vigorous physical activity in this study were associated with better cognitive function compared to their respective counterparts. Significant sex differences were also observed in these associations with a female disadvantage. Thus, it would be crucial for policymakers to advocate health-promotional programs such as yoga/meditation and physical exercises that enhance cognitive abilities of older individuals and women in particular and ensure active aging.