Yoga participation and all-cause mortality: National prospective cohort study

The relatively few studies examining the effect of yoga participation on chronic disease come from small, short-term studies. As a result, the purpose of this study was to prospectively examine the effects of yoga participation on all-cause mortality in a large nationally representative study with a relatively long follow-up period (up to 12 year follow-up).

Data from the 1999-2006 National Health & Nutrition Examination Survey were used, with follow-up through 2011. Yoga participation was self-reported, with participant identification linked to death certificate data from the National Death Index to ascertain mortality status.

In the analyzed sample, which included 22,598 adult participants, 240 participants engaged in yoga and 3176 died over the follow-up period; the median follow-up period was 102 months (8.5 years). In an unadjusted Cox hazard model, those engaging in yoga, compared to those not engaging in yoga, had a 63% reduced risk of premature all-cause mortality (HR=0.37; 95% CI: 0.18-0.74; P=.006). However, after adjusting for age, the association was attenuated and no longer statistically significant (HR(adjusted)=0.82; 95% CI: 0.39-1.72; P=.60).

In conclusion, yoga participation was not significantly associated with reduced all-cause mortality risk in an adjusted model.