Feasibility and Preliminary Effects of a Community-Based Sutra Chanting Program on Mental Well-Being and Respiratory and Swallowing Functions in Older Adults: A Pilot Study.

A 7-week community-based sutra chanting program was feasible and safe for community-dwelling older adults, with all 44 participants completing the program without adverse events.

• Single-group pre-post pilot study design
• 44 participants with mean age 70.3 ± 9.1 years
• Program was held weekly at Buddhist temples in Tokyo
• No adverse events were reported throughout the intervention

Mental well-being scores, as measured by the WHO-5 Well-being Index, significantly improved following the sutra chanting intervention.

• Changes were analyzed using mixed models for repeated measures
• Significant improvement was observed from pre- to post-intervention
• Qualitative feedback indicated perceived calmness and emotional comfort among participants
• Participants also reported motivation to continue chanting after the program

Maximum phonation time (MPT) significantly improved following the sutra chanting intervention.

• MPT is a measure of respiratory and phonatory control
• Changes were assessed using mixed models for repeated measures
• Significant pre-post improvement was observed
• No specific numerical values are reported in the abstract

Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1.0) significantly improved following the sutra chanting intervention.

• FEV1.0 was used as a measure of respiratory function
• Significant improvement was detected from pre- to post-intervention using mixed-model analyses
• Sutra chanting involves sustained vocalization and breath control, which may mechanistically relate to this improvement
• Specific numerical values are not reported in the abstract

Hyoid displacement during swallowing (ΔHD) significantly improved following the sutra chanting intervention.

• ΔHD was used as a measure of swallowing-related function
• Significant pre-post changes were detected using mixed-model analyses
• No significant changes were observed in tongue pressure or repetitive saliva swallowing test scores
• This suggests the intervention had selective rather than global effects on swallowing-related measures

No significant changes were observed in tongue pressure or repetitive saliva swallowing test scores after the intervention.

• Tongue pressure and repetitive saliva swallowing test were among the swallowing-related outcome measures assessed
• Mixed-model analyses did not reveal significant pre-post changes for these two measures
• This contrasts with the significant improvements seen in ΔHD, FEV1.0, and MPT
• The differential response suggests sutra chanting may not uniformly affect all aspects of oral and swallowing function

Traditional cultural practices such as sutra chanting may represent promising complementary resources for community-based health promotion in aging societies.

• The authors note that further controlled studies are warranted to confirm these preliminary findings
• The program was delivered within existing community infrastructure (Buddhist temples)
• The study was framed as a pilot to explore feasibility and preliminary effects
• Qualitative participant feedback supported acceptability of the program