AIIA Ayurveda Study Screens 5,594 Elderly in Faridabad

The All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), New Delhi, has reported encouraging results from a community-based Ayurveda programme run among elderly people in Faridabad district of Haryana. Improvements were recorded in quality of life, in Agnibala and in bone mineral density after the intervention, and cognitive assessments showed positive change as well. The findings were presented at a workshop at AIIA on 24 October, and the project report was handed to an expert committee.

How the project was run

The work came under the institute’s Public Health Initiative. Over three months, 5,594 people in the 60 to 80 year age group were screened in Faridabad district and given Ayurvedic medicines. A separate component addressed dementia: here 200 patients were screened and given Ayurveda-based medicines over four months. The project, titled "Community-Based Ayurveda Intervention for Promotion of Physical and Mental Health in Elderly Population of Faridabad District, Haryana State", set out to test what community-level Ayurveda can do and to weigh approaches to healthy ageing.

What the first screening found

High blood pressure, raised random blood glucose, low bone mineral density, constipation and sleep problems were also found among the participants.

The results

In the first component, a 60-day intervention raised the total score on the World Health Organization Quality of Life assessment, WHOQOL, from 292.0 to 326.3. All six parameters used to measure Agnibala, the Ayurvedic idea of digestive and metabolic strength, improved, and so did bone mineral density.

In the second component on cognitive health, scores on the Mini-Mental State Examination, MMSE, moved towards normal levels, and the 6-CIT assessment also pointed to better cognitive performance. The quality-of-life score in this group rose from 277.4 to 364.2. Levels of serotonin, acetylcholine, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and vitamin D improved as well.

The institute was careful about how far the findings reach: wider scientific evaluation, continued safety monitoring and further study are needed before the effectiveness and safety of such interventions can be treated as established.

The workshop

Dr Koustubha Upadhyaya, Advisor to the Ministry of Ayush, was chief guest, and Prof (Vaidya) Pradeep Kumar Prajapati, Director of AIIA, presided. The Advisor spoke of the need for meaningful social engagement with older people, for encouraging them into physical and mental activity, and for greater investment in such work. The Director asked that community-based Ayurveda services be studied systematically and extended to more elderly people, and underlined the role of the joint family system in their care. The book Holistic Approach for Healthy Aging was released at the event. AIIA is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Ayush.