Effect of Raja Yoga Meditation on the lipid profile of post-menopausal women.

Background : Coronary artery disease is an important cause of death and disability among older women. Modification in lipid profile lowers the risk of coronary artery disease. It is claimed that yoga and transcendental meditation have a cholesterol lowering effect. This study was designed to assess the effect of raja yoga meditation of Brahmakumaris which is very simple to practice, on serum lipids in normal Indian women. Methods and Results : 49 normal female volunteers were the subjects. They were divided into pre-menopausal (n=23) and post-menopausal (n=26) groups. They were further divided into non-meditators (who had never done any kind of meditation), short-term meditators (meditating for 6 months to 5 years) and long-term meditators (meditating for more than 5 years). Lipid profile was assessed using their respective reagent sets. Serum cholesterol, triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol in nonmeditators were significantly more in post-menopausal women as compared to pre-menopausal women. Serum cholesterol and low density lipoproteincholesterol were significantly lowered in both short and long term meditators as compared to non-meditators in post- menopausal women. No significant difference was observed in lipid profile in pre- menopausal women. Conclusion : Raja yoga meditation lowered serum cholesterol and lowdensity lipoprotein - cholesterol in post-menopausal women thus reducing the risk of coronary artery disease in them.

Multiple choice questions: a literature review on the optimal number of options.

BACKGROUND: Single, best response, multiple choice questions (MCQs) with 4 options (3 distractors and 1 correct answer) or 5 options (4 distractors) have been widely used as an assessment tool in medical education in India and globally. Writing plausible distractors is time consuming and the most difficult part of preparing MCQs. If the number of options can be reduced to 3, it will make preparing MCQs less difficult and time consuming, thus reducing the likelihood of flaws in writing MCQs. We reviewed the literature to find out if the number of options in MCQ test items could be reduced to 3 without affecting the quality of the test. METHODS: A systematic database search was done using the following question as a framework: How many options are optimal for multiple choice questions? Theoretical, analytical and empirical studies, which addressed this issue, were included in the review. RESULTS: There was no significant change in the psychometric properties of the 3 options test when compared with 4 and 5 options. MCQs with 3 options improved the efficiency of the test as well as its administration compared with 4- or 5-option MCQs. MCQs with 3 options had a higher efficiency because fewer distractors needed to be prepared, took up less space and required less reading time, decreased the time required to develop the items and the time to administer, and more items could be administered in a given time thus increasing the content sampled. CONCLUSION: Our review of the literature suggests that MCQs with 3 options provide a similar quality of test as that with 4- or 5-option MCQs. We suggest that MCQs with 3 options should be preferred.

Effect of meditation on respiratory system, cardiovascular system and lipid profile.

In this study, respiratory functions, cardiovascular parameters and lipid profile of those practicing Raja Yoga meditation (short and long term meditators) were compared with those of nonmediators. Vital capacity, tidal volume and breath holding were significantly higher in short and long term meditators than nonmeditators. Long term mediators had significantly higher vital capacity and expiratory pressure than short term meditators. Diastolic blood pressure was significantly lower in both short and long term meditators as compared to nonmeditators. Heart rate was significantly lower in long term meditators than in short term meditators and nonmeditators. Lipid profile showed a significant lowering of serum cholesterol in short and long term meditators as compared to nonmeditators. Lipid profile of short and long term meditators was better than the profile of nonmeditators inspite of similar physical activity. This shows that Raja Yoga meditation provides significant improvements in respiratory functions, cardiovascular parameters and lipid profile.