Quality of Life and Functional Health Status of Long-Term Meditators
Table 1
Demographics of meditation practitioners.
Factor
Meditation practitioners*
Number of responses
343
% Male
39.6
Mean age and age range
44, (SD 13.4), range 18 yrs to 82 yrs
% Caucasian
77.2
% Asian
21.9
% Single/never married/divorced/widow
27
% Married/de facto
73
High school, highest level
25.9
Undergraduate, highest level
49.4
Postgraduate, highest level
21.2
No history of mental illness
87.9
History of minor mental illness
10.4
History of major mental illness
1.7
*In comparison, the National Health Survey in 1995 was weighted to population norms with the SF36 administered to only the household members aged 18 years or more. The mean age was 42.6 (SD 16.5) with 48% male.