title: Impact of transcendental meditation on ambulatory blood pressure in African-American adolescents.
abstract: The objective of this study was to determine the impact of stress reduction on blood pressure (BP) in adolescents by the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program. African-American adolescents (aged 16.2 +/- 1.3 years) with high normal systolic BP were randomly assigned to either 4-month TM (n = 50) or health education control (n = 50) groups. Ambulatory 24-h BP measures were recorded at pretest, 2- and 4-month post-tests, and 4-month follow-up. Greater decreases in daytime systolic BP (P < .04) and diastolic BP (P < .06) in the TM group compared with the control group across the visits demonstrate a beneficial impact of the TM program in youth at risk for the development of hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Georgia Institute for Prevention of Human Diseases and Accidents, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia 30912, USA. vbarnes@mail.mcg.edu
authors.forename: Vernon A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Barnes
authors.forename: Frank A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Treiber
authors.forename: Maribeth H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000208:ethnology*; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D000886:Anthropometry; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D003971:Diastole / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005845:Georgia / Q000208:ethnology; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019122:Meditation; D013599:Systole / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors