Dawn M. Upchurch|Pamela Jo Johnson
Gender Differences in Prevalence, Patterns, Purposes, and Perceived Benefits of Meditation Practices in the United States
UCLA Health|University of Minnesota
meditation common type complementary alternative medicine cam evidence usefulness health promotion growing women higher rates overall cam use men little known gender differences meditation practices reasons use perceived benefitsdata 2012 national health interview survey nhis used nhis design multistage probability sample representative us adults aged 18 n 34342 designbased ftest logistic regression used analyses weighted performed 20172018overall 103 women 52 men reported using type meditation past year p 0001 among meditators higher percentage women used meditation yoga tai chi qi gong men likely use specific types standalone practices eg mindfulness women p 0001 type common reason reported using meditation reduce stress 35 although women men reported similar reasons meditating gender differences prevalence reasons men women perceived meditation helpful 90 94 respectivelythere gender differences prevalence purpose perceived benefits using meditation us adults aged 18 use meditation find helpful although currently less prevalent among men providers consider meditation tool health promotion men women