In this first-ever, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study comparing Ayurveda, MTX, and their combination, all 3 treatments were approximately equivalent in efficacy, within the limits of a pilot study. Adverse events were numerically fewer in the Ayurveda-only group. This study demonstrates that double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized studies are possible when testing individualized classic Ayurvedic versus allopathic treatment in ways acceptable to western standards and to Ayurvedic physicians. It also justifies the need for larger studies.

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Systematically comparable data on married elders from the United States (n = 567; ages 60+) and Madras, India (n = 207; ages 55+) and simultaneous factor analyses (LISREL) were used to test the cross-cultural metric and structural invariance of a model of the influence of emotional social support from role relationships (adult children, spouse, and friends and relatives) on subjective well-being, based on social support and interactional role theories. Except for cross-cultural differences in measurement error variances, the model showed a high degree of invariance across the two samples. Americans and Indians were unexpectedly similar in terms of the influence of emotional social support from role relationships on their subjective well-being. The discussion explores why cross-culturally similar relationships exist between emotional support and subjective well-being for married elders in two such apparently different societies.