A Systematic Review of the Prevalence of Yoga Usage among Racial & Ethnic Minorities in the United States

Problem Statement: Little is known about why racial & ethnic minorities who suffer the most from lower back pain, in comparison to other groups, are least likely to practice yoga despite it’s benefits in treating the condition.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to examine the patterns of yoga utilization among adults 18 years and older with a diagnosis of lower back pain.

Methods: A cross-sectional secondary analysis was conducted using data from the Adult Complementary and Alternative Medicine Component of the 2012 National Health Interview Survey. The population analyzed included 2,974 (unweighted) adults who practiced yoga during the past 12 months. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the significance of each background variable in explaining the likelihood of an individual with back pain using yoga after controlling for all other background variables.

Results: Results of the analysis confirmed that the use of yoga differs by ethnic group, even after controlling for background differences. African Americans are 1.5 times less likely to report using yoga than whites (1.67). Latinos are less than twice as likely (2.18) and Asian Americans are less than 3 times (2.75) as likely to report the use of yoga when compared to whites. Women are 1.46 times as likely to report using yoga as men. Those without insurance are 1.56 times as likely to report the use of yoga than those who are insured. High school graduates are 1.45 times more likely to report using yoga than those who did not graduate from high school. Use of yoga is not related to income or age.