Community-Based Mind–Body Meditative Tai Chi Program and Its Effects on Improvement of Blood Pressure, Weight, Renal Function, Serum Lipoprotein, and Quality of Life in Chinese Adults With Hypertension

Abstract

Obesity, metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemia, and poor quality of life are common conditions associated with hypertension, and incidence of hypertension is age dependent. However, an effective program to prevent hypertension and to improve biomedical factors and quality of life has not been adequately examined or evaluated in Chinese older adults. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of a Tai Chi program to improve health status in participants with hypertension and its related risk factors such as dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, and quality of life in older adults in China. A randomized study design was used. At the conclusion of the intervention, 266 patients remained in the study. Blood pressure and biomedical factors were measured according to the World Diabetes Association standard 2002. A standardized quality-of-life measure was used to measure health-related quality of life. It was found that a Tai Chi program to improve hypertension in older adults is effective in reducing blood pressure and body mass index, maintaining normal renal function, and improving physical health of health-related quality of life. It did not improve existing metabolic syndrome levels, lipid level (dyslipidemia) or fasting glucose level (hyperglycemia), to prevent further deterioration of the biomedical risk factors. In conclusion, Tai Chi is effective in managing a number of risk factors associated with hypertension in Chinese older adults. Future research should examine a combination of Tai Chi and nutritional intervention to further reduce the level of biomedical risks.

Effects of Tai Chi therapy on body mass index and physical index of intellectual disability

“…It is effective on physical flexibility and sense of balance; therefore, it also helps in preventing falls in people with intellectual disabilities who are at a higher accident risk due to their unnatural movements (Bubela, Sacharko, Chan, & Brady, ; Kachouri et al, ; K. Lee et al, ;). Additionally, it is a physical activity program that is beneficial to the rehabilitation treatment and physical function improvement of people with intellectual disabilities since it is helpful for the development of mental, social, and physical abilities, such as decrease in blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, and body mass index (BMI) (Chang, Lee, & Eom, ; Y. Kim, ; Salmoirago‐Blotcher et al, ; Sun & Buys, ).…”

“…However, they were not statistically significant. This result could not support the previous studies (Ko, Tsang, & Chan, ; Sun & Buys, ) that reported the blood pressure decrease effect of Tai Chi therapy because the reported result values were lower than that of the seventh report of the US Joint National Committee (JNC), which suggested that regular aerobic exercise can reduce blood pressure by 4–9 mmHg (Chobanian et al, ). This seems to be attributed to the fact that the study subjects were intellectually disabled people with difficulties in persistent concentration and lack of muscular strength and coordination (Kachouri et al, ; K. Lee et al, ).…”

“…Additionally, it is a physical activity program that is beneficial to the rehabilitation treatment and physical function improvement of people with intellectual disabilities since it is helpful for the development of mental, social, and physical abilities, such as decrease in blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, and body mass index (BMI) (Chang, Lee, & Eom, 2014;Y. Kim, 2013;Salmoirago-Blotcher et al, 2017;Sun & Buys, 2015).…”

Effect of Tai Chi exercise for hypertension: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

“…We considered P < 0.05 to be statistically significant. We searched 76 articles, depending on the basis of literature into and exclusion the filtered criteria, finally, we got 13 studies in this review [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Figure 1 depicts the study selection's detailed process.…”

“…It has also been used as an exercise form and best adapted for older individuals of Asian heritage, to enhance body awareness and body balance. Tai Chi can lowered diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) has been proved by a recent of trials, modulated lipid metabolism, and raised the NO index of patients with hypertension, and others comprehensive beneficial effects [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Tai Chi can benefit hypertension patients which supported by increasing evidence from RCTs, but there is no strictly evaluated evidence to confirm its function in hypertension patients health according to small size individual studies samples were short of strictly designed large size and inconsistent results RCTs.…”