Tai Chi for Chronic Illness Management: Synthesizing Current Evidence from Meta-Analyses of Randomized Controlled Trials
journal contribution
posted on 2023-08-30, 17:35 authored by Liye Zou, Tao Xiao, Chao Cao, Lee Smith, Kellie Imm, Igor Grabovac, Thomas Waldhoer, Yin Zhang, Albert Yeung, Jacopo Demurtas, Nicola Veronese, Ulf Ekelund, Yikyung Park, Lin YangAn umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted to evaluate the existing evidence of Tai Chi as a mind-body exercise for chronic illness management. MEDLINE/PubMed and Embase databases were searched from inception until 31st March 2019 for meta-analyses of at least two RCTs that investigated health outcomes associated with Tai Chi intervention. Evidence of significant outcomes (P-value <0.05) was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system.
This review identified 45 meta-analyses of RCTs and calculated 142 summary estimates among adults living with 16 types of chronic illnesses. Statistically significant results (P-value <0.05) were identified for 81 of the 142 outcomes (57.0%), of which 45 estimates presenting 30 unique outcomes across 14 chronic illnesses were supported by high (n=1) or moderate (n=44) evidence. Moderate evidence suggests that Tai Chi intervention improved physical functions and disease-specific outcomes compared with non-active controls and cardiorespiratory fitness compared with active controls among adults with diverse chronic illnesses. Between-study heterogeneity and publication bias were observed in some meta-analyses.
History
Refereed
- Yes
Volume
134Issue number
2Page range
194-205Publication title
American Journal of MedicineISSN
1555-7162External DOI
Publisher
ElsevierFile version
- Accepted version
Language
- eng