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Impact of Yoga and Meditation on Cellular Aging in Apparently Healthy Individuals: A Prospective, Open-Label Single-Arm Exploratory Study

Madhuri R Tolahunase, Rajesh Sagar, Rima Dada

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity January 16, 2017 DOI: 10.1155/2017/7928981 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Prospective, open-label, single-arm exploratory study Peer reviewed
Sample size 96
Population Apparently healthy individuals
Intervention Yoga and Meditation based lifestyle intervention (YMLI)
Duration 12 weeks
Measures 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OH2dG), reactive oxygen species (ROS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), telomere length, telomerase activity, cortisol, β-endorphin, IL-6, BDNF, sirtuin-1
Topics Meditation
Key points After 12 weeks of a Yoga and Meditation based lifestyle intervention, markers of cellular aging improved: 8-OH2dG, ROS, cortisol, and IL-6 decreased significantly, while TAC, telomerase activity, β-endorphin, BDNF, and sirtuin-1 increased significantly. Telomere length increased but not significantly. The authors conclude the intervention significantly reduced the rate of cellular aging.

Abstract

This study was designed to explore the impact of Yoga and Meditation based lifestyle intervention (YMLI) on cellular aging in apparently healthy individuals. During this 12-week prospective, open-label, single arm exploratory study, 96 apparently healthy individuals were enrolled to receive YMLI. The primary endpoints were assessment of the change in levels of cardinal biomarkers of cellular aging in blood from baseline to week 12, which included DNA damage marker 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OH2dG), oxidative stress markers reactive oxygen species (ROS), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and telomere attrition markers telomere length and telomerase activity. The secondary endpoints were assessment of metabotrophic blood biomarkers associated with cellular aging, which included cortisol, β-endorphin, IL-6, BDNF, and sirtuin-1. After 12 weeks of YMLI, there were significant improvements in both the cardinal biomarkers of cellular aging and the metabotrophic biomarkers influencing cellular aging compared to baseline values. The mean levels of 8-OH2dG, ROS, cortisol, and IL-6 were significantly lower and mean levels of TAC, telomerase activity, β-endorphin, BDNF, and sirtuin-1 were significantly increased (all values p < 0.05) post-YMLI. The mean level of telomere length was increased but the finding was not significant (p = 0.069). YMLI significantly reduced the rate of cellular aging in apparently healthy population.

Comparable studies

Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients 2003 Pre-post intervention study n = 59
Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample 2010 Pre-post intervention study
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students 2003 Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study n = 302
Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls 2011 Controlled trial with wait-list control group n = 60
The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents 2011 Within-group waitlist controlled trial n = 22

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