Effects of a 12-Week Hatha Yoga Intervention on Cardiorespiratory Endurance, Muscular Strength and Endurance, and Flexibility in Hong Kong Chinese Adults: A Controlled Clinical Trial
Table 2
Demographic characteristics of participants in the yoga group and the control group, by gender.
Characteristics
Men
Women
Yoga (n = 34)
Control (n = 30)
Yoga (n = 53)
Control (n = 56)
M ± SD or f (%)
M ± SD or f (%)
Age, years
53.68 ± 7.91
53.50 ± 8.27
0.931
51.64 ± 6.57
50.46 ± 7.35
0.381
Marital status, %†
0.067
0.589
Single
2 (5.9)
0 (0)
11 (20.8)
14 (25.0)
Married
28 (82.4)
29 (96.7)
42 (79.2)
42 (75.0)
Widowed
4 (11.8)
1 (3.3)
0 (0.0)
0 (0)
Education level, %†
0.087
0.543
No education
0 (0)
0 (0)
0 (0)
1 (1.8)
Primary
0 (0)
0 (0)
5 (9.4)
5 (8.9)
Secondary
12 (35.3)
17 (56.7)
33 (62.3)
37 (66.1)
Tertiary
22 (64.7)
13 (43.3)
15 (28.3)
13 (23.2)
Occupation, %†
0.355
0.813
Full-time
21 (61.8)
16 (53.5)
27 (50.9)
29 (51.8)
Part-time
1 (2.9)
0 (0)
4 (7.5)
5 (8.9)
Unemployed
0 (0)
2 (6.7)
0 (0)
0 (0)
Housewife
0 (0)
0 (0)
18 (34.0)
12 (21.4)
Retired
12 (35.3)
12 (40)
4 (7.5)
10 (17.9)
Medication use, %
Antidiabetic
0.064
0.688
Yes
8 (23.5)
2 (6.7)
7 (13.2)
6 (10.7)
No
26 (76.5)
28 (93.3)
46 (86.8)
50 (89.3)
Antihypertensive
0.791
0.066
Yes
7 (20.6)
7 (23.3)
13 (24.5)
23 (41.1)
No
27 (79.4)
23 (76.7)
40 (75.5)
33 (58.9)
Lipid lowering
0.872
0.904
Yes
3 (8.8)
3 (10.0)
9 (17.0)
10 (17.9)
No
31 (91.2)
27 (90.0)
44 (83.0)
46 (82.1)
Smoking, %†
0.953
0.328
Current
1 (2.9)
2 (6.7)
0 (0)
1 (1.8)
Quitted
6 (17.6)
4 (13.3)
0 (0)
0 (0)
Never
27 (79.4)
24 (80.0)
53 (100)
55 (98.2)
Alcohol intake, %†
0.384
0.069
Quitted
1 (2.9)
1 (3.3)
0 (0)
0 (0)
Never
8 (23.5)
10 (33.3)
22 (41.5)
33 (58.9)
Sometimes
23 (67.6)
17 (56.7)
30 (56.6)
22 (39.3)
Always
2 (5.9)
2 (6.7)
1 (1.9)
1 (1.8)
Physical activity level, MET-minutes/week
1332.36 ± 1047.76
1569.36 ± 769.31
0.330
2109.24 ± 2145.74
1781.99 ± 1714.95
0.422
HRQoL
Physical function (PF)
93.24 ± 5.89
88.67 ± 14.50
0.096
85.85 ± 11.88
84.20 ± 10.78
0.448
Role physical (RP)
91.18 ± 19.35
85.83 ± 26.82
0.360
77.36 ± 32.62
85.71 ± 26.05
0.141
Bodily pain (BP)
71.26 ± 19.07
69.73 ± 23.99
0.777
62.57 ± 19.87
66.18 ± 21.49
0.365
General health perceptions (GH)
61.03 ± 11.33
59.17 ± 11.60
0.519
60.47 ± 12.37
61.96 ± 12.20
0.527
Physical component score (PCS)
316.71 ± 33.06
303.40 ± 59.33
0.282
286.25 ± 60.58
298.05 ± 51.23
0.273
Vitality (VT)
71.03 ± 12.30
67.00 ± 15.62
0.253
64.06 ± 16.11
64.82 ± 17.61
0.814
Social functioning (SF)
86.40 ± 13.89
89.58 ± 14.71
0.376
83.25 ± 20.35
87.05 ± 17.02
0.292
Role emotional (RE)
80.39 ± 32.94
91.11 ± 23.05
0.133
71.07 ± 37.00
85.71 ± 29.72
0.025
General mental Health (MH)
77.65 ± 11.49
78.53 ± 14.23
0.784
73.74 ± 15.08
77.57 ± 14.30
0.176
Mental component score (MCS)
315.47 ± 53.26
326.23 ± 53.23
0.423
292.12 ± 75.16
315.16 ± 65.25
0.090
Body measurements
SBP, mmHg
132.82 ± 16.80
132.17 ± 19.97
0.887
125.87 ± 15.21
132.18 ± 21.16
0.076
DBP, mmHg
78.32 ± 10.79
80.97 ± 11.27
0.342
76.64 ± 10.43
80.39 ± 12.07
0.086
BMI, kg/m2
24.28 ± 4.21
25.45 ± 2.83
0.203
24.55 ± 3.62
26.14 ± 4.37
0.041
Outcome measures
Cardiorespiratory endurance
Resting heart rate, bpm
67.53 ± 9.31
66.77 ± 9.10
0.742
69.11 ± 9.06
70.61 ± 9.97
0.416
VO2max, mL/kg/min
32.99 ± 6.77
32.95 ± 6.76
0.982
26.35 ± 5.51
24.69 ± 4.37
0.083
Muscular strength and endurance
Curl-ups, times
20.18 ± 6.42
22.47 ± 4.00
0.088
21.04 ± 5.43
19.38 ± 4.86
0.095
Push-ups, times
9.50 ± 9.50
6.67 ± 5.93
0.153
1.87 ± 4.30
1.82 ± 3.37
0.950
Flexibility
MBS left leg, cm
39.99 ± 11.47
49.28 ± 13.36
0.004
52.46 ± 8.44
51.28 ± 10.66
0.520
MBS right leg, cm
39.66 ± 11.80
49.56 ± 14.00
0.003
52.41 ± 8.31
50.89 ± 11.21
0.424
The total percentage may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding. BMI: body mass index; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; HRQoL: health-related quality of life; MBS: the modified back-saver sit-and-reach test; SBP: systolic blood pressure; VO2max: maximal oxygen uptake. †Variables were regrouped for analyses as follows: marital status (single + widowed versus married), education level (No education + primary + secondary versus tertiary), occupation (full-time + part-time versus unemployed + housewife + retired), smoking (current + quitted versus never), and alcohol intake (quitted + sometimes + always versus never).
