The effect of Tai Chi/Qigong on depression and anxiety symptoms in adults with Cancer: A systematic review and meta-regression.

OBJECTIVE: We expand on prior systematic reviews of Tai chi/Qigong (TCQ) practice on depression or anxiety symptoms in adults with cancer to estimate the mean effect of TCQ on depression and anxiety in randomized controlled trials. Additionally, we perform moderator analysis to examine whether effects vary based on patient features, TCQ stimuli properties, or characteristics of research design. METHODS: Guided by PRISMA guidelines, we located articles published before August 31, 2023 using a combination of electronic database search and a complementary manual search through reference lists of articles and published reviews. Two separate multilevel meta-analyses with random-effects model were employed to estimate the overall effect of TCQ on depression and anxiety respectively. Further, multilevel meta-regression analysis was utilized to examine moderating effects based on moderators derived from patient features, TCQ stimuli properties, or characteristics associated with research design. Meta-analyses were performed in R4.0.0 and certainty of evidence with GRADEpro software. RESULTS: The TCQ intervention yielded a standardized mean effect size of 0.29 (95% CI, 0.18 to 0.40) for anxiety, indicating homogeneity among the included studies. Conversely, for depression, the standardized mean effect size was 0.35 (95% CI, 0.14 to 0.55), signifying heterogeneity: reductions were larger when the trial primary outcome, predominantly function-related outcomes, changed significantly between the TCQ and control group. CONCLUSIONS: TCQ practice exhibits small-to-moderate efficacy in alleviating depression and anxiety symptoms among cancer patients and survivors. Moreover, patients with depressive symptoms for whom TCQ intervention coupled with improvements in function-related outcomes manifested greater antidepressant effect.

The comparative effects of Tai chi versus non-mindful exercise on measures of anxiety, depression and general mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Tai chi has been commonly used as an allied health strategy that can support the improvement of mental health for individuals, yet the comparative effects of Tai chi versus non-mindful exercise on measures of anxiety, depression and general mental health are unknown. This study aims to quantitatively estimate the comparative effects between Tai chi and non-mindful exercise on measures of anxiety, depression, and general mental health and examine whether selected moderators of theoretical or practical importance moderate the effects. METHODS: Consistent with PRISMA guidelines for conduct and reporting, we located articles published before 31 Dec 2021 using Google Scholar, Pubmed, Web of Science, EBSCO (PsycArticles, PsycExtra, PsycInfo, Academic Search Premier, ERIC, MEDLINE). To be included in the analysis, studies were required to have (1) a design that randomly assigned participants to Tai chi and non-mindful exercise comparison condition or group. (2) anxiety, depression, or general mental health outcome measured at baseline and during or after Tai chi and exercise intervention. Study quality was judged using the tool for assessing study quality and reporting in exercise (TESTEX) for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Three separate multilevel meta-analyses with random effects were performed to estimate the comparative effects of Tai chi versus non-mindful exercise on psychometric measures of anxiety, depression, and general mental health respectively. In addition, possible moderators were assessed accordingly for each meta-analysis. RESULTS: Twenty-three studies that included measures of anxiety (10), depression (14), and general mental health (11) involved 4370 participants (anxiety, 950; depression, 1959; general mental health,1461) and yielded 30 effects on anxiety, 48 on depression, and 27 on general mental health outcomes. Tai Chi training consisted of 1-5 sessions per week, 20-83 min per session, and 6-48 weeks. After adjusting for nesting effects, the results showed significant small-to-moderate effects of Tai chi versus non-mindful exercise on the measure of anxiety (d = 0.28, 95 % CI, 0.08 to 0.48), depression (d = 0.20, 95 % CI, 0.04 to 0.36), and general mental health (d = 0.40, 95 % CI, 0.08 to 0.73). Further moderator analyses showed that baseline general mental health T-score and study quality influenced the effects of Tai chi versus non-mindful exercise on measure of general mental health. CONCLUSION: Compared to non-mindful exercise, the small body of studies reviewed here tentatively supports that Tai chi is more effective in reducing anxiety and depression and improving general mental health than non-mindful exercise. Higher-quality trials are needed to standardize Tai chi and non-mindful exercise exposure, quantify mindfulness elements in Tai chi practice, and control expectations on conditions to better determine the psychological effects of both exercise properties.

The effects of exercise interventions on Parkinson's disease: A Bayesian network meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This work aimed to assess effects of different exercise intervention on Parkinson's disease (PD) treatment via a network meta-analysis. METHODS: Eligible literatures were retrieved from three databases (PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library) up to March 5, 2019 and screened based on established selection criteria. Afterwards, relevant data was extracted and heterogeneity tests were conducted to select appropriate effect models according to chi-square test and I2 statistics. Publication bias of included studies was also performed. Finally, the pairwise and network meta-analyses were carried out to evaluate the efficacy of different exercise training on PD management. RESULTS: Overall, 19 studies encompassing 920 PD patients were identified to explore effects of interventions such as dance, Qigong, tango, resistance training (RT), Taichi and yoga on PD in terms of six indicators including six-minute walk, gait velocity, UPDRS III, PD questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39), timed up and go (TUG) and Berg balance test (BBT). The direct meta-analysis revealed that RT and dance altered the gait velocity and PDR-39 indicator of PD patients. And there was a statistical difference in RT and Tango regarding UPDRS III. Besides, significant differences were also detected among multiple comparisons based on TUG and BBT, containing RT vs control, Tai Chi vs control and Tango vs control for TUG, and dance vs control for BBT. Finally, results of network meta-analysis implied that tango was a good exercise for PD patients according to six different outcome measures. CONCLUSION: Tango was an optimal and effective option for improving functional mobility of PD patients.

Yoga Aids Blood Pressure Recovery After Exposure of Forehead to Cold: A Pilot Study.

Context: Hypotension that occurs after a single bout of aerobic exercise also attenuates the vascular response to discrete stressors, an effect that can last for hours. It is unknown whether the hypotensive benefits of traditional exercise extend to alternative forms of mindful exercise, such as yoga, to confer transient protection against neurovascular challenges that increase blood pressure (BP). Objectives: The study intended to examine the effects of acute exercise on neurovascular responses to exposure of the forehead of female yoga practitioners to vasoconstrictive cold (ie, to cold pressor stress). Design: The research team designed a study with 3 conditions (ie, with participants' participation in 3 activities on separate days in a repeated-measures design). Participants were randomly assigned to perform the activities in 1 of 3 orders across successive visits. Participants: Participants were 9 females, 20 to 33 y old, who had regularly practiced Hatha yoga from 6 mo to 12 y before the start of the study. All participants were normotensive at entry to the study and had normal body weights for their heights. Interventions: All participants performed 3 activities: (1) self-directed yoga practice, the intervention; (2) cycling exercise at a self-selected intensity, a positive control; and (3) quiet rest, a negative control. Outcome Measures: Postintervention, participants' foreheads were exposed to cold. Their systolic blood pressures (SBPs), diastolic blood pressures (DBPs), pulse rates, and forearm oxygenation were assessed using near-infrared spectroscopy. Results: Participants' SBPs and DBPs increased during cold pressor stress under all conditions, concurrent with decreased forearm oxygenation. During recovery from the cold, participants' BPs declined to near precold pressor baseline levels after yoga and cycling but remained elevated after quiet rest. Conclusions: The enhanced recovery of BP from cold applied to the forehead after yoga practice or cycling exercise suggests that both types of exercise promote a hypotensive response, which could indicate lowered cardiovascular risk.