Effect of tai chi on glycaemic control, lipid metabolism and body composition in adults with type 2 diabetes: A meta-analysis and systematic review

Abstract

Objective The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the effects of tai chi on metabolic control and body composition indicators in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of existing literature. Methods Electronic resource databases were searched to collect eligible studies. Two reviewers selected studies and independently evaluated methodological quality. Results Twenty-three studies were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled results showed that tai chi had significant effects in improving metabolic indices, such as fasting blood glucose (mean difference (MD) = –1.04; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) –1.42 to 0.66; p < 0.01) and total cholesterol (MD = –0.50; 95% CI –0.86 to –0.13; p < 0.01) compared with conventional clinical therapy. Most indices did not support the use of tai chi over aerobic exercise, except for glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) (MD = –0.24; 95% CI –0.49 to 0.00; p < 0.01) and high-density lipoprotein (MD = 0.07; 95% CI 0.01 to 0.12; p < 0.01). Conclusion Tai chi had better effects on metabolic control and body composition indicators than clinical conventional therapy, but only on HbA1c and HDL were superior than that of aerobic exercise. The best time-window for tai chi intervention may differ with different metabolic indices. LAY ABSTRACT Exercise therapy is a possible alternative and effective strategy for blood glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes, since drug therapy is associated with side-effects, long-term loss of efficacy, and poor adherence to lifelong treatment. A review of evidence was performed regarding the effects of tai chi on glycaemic control and other indicators in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The results indicate that tai chi not only improves metabolic control, e.g. fasting blood glucose and total cholesterol, but also improves body composition indicators, e.g. body mass index. However, benefits of tai chi over aerobic exercise were seen in only a few outcome measures. The type and methodology of studies varied widely, with discrepancies in intensity, frequency, and duration of tai chi; therefore, further high-quality research is needed in order to draw specific and accurate conclusions.

Tai Chi for Overweight/Obese Adolescents and Young Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

“…Tai chi has been reported to alleviate the lipid profile disorders in other conditions [31][32][33][34], which was also observed in this trial. A significant difference was observed between the two intervention groups in TC, TG, and LDL-C. BMI and HOMA-IR were also decreased in the Tai chi group, which seems consistent with reports that Tai chi could contribute to weight loss and improve insulin resistance [35], and the effect seemed similar to other aerobic exercises [36].…”

The Effects of Tai Chi Exercise for Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: An Overview of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

“…After reading the full text, 6 articles [25][26][27][28][29][30] were found irrelevant to SRs/MAs in RCTs, and 2 SRs/MAs [31,32] were not about people with T2DM. Thus, 8 SRs/MAs [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] were finally included in this overview. The process of study selection is shown in Figure 1.…”

“…The characteristics included in the overview are shown in Table 2. These SRs/ MAs were all published between 2017 and 2021, 5 [33][34][35][36][37] of which were in English, and the remaining 3 [38][39][40] were in Chinese. One [34] of the SRs/MAs was published by Korean researchers, and the remaining 7 SRs/MAs [33,[35][36][37][38][39][40] were published by Chinese researchers.…”

“…These SRs/ MAs were all published between 2017 and 2021, 5 [33][34][35][36][37] of which were in English, and the remaining 3 [38][39][40] were in Chinese. One [34] of the SRs/MAs was published by Korean researchers, and the remaining 7 SRs/MAs [33,[35][36][37][38][39][40] were published by Chinese researchers. The number of RCTs was between 10 and 23, and the sample size was between 740 and 1,800.…”

Comparison of the effects of Tai Chi and general aerobic exercise on weight, blood pressure and glycemic control among older persons with depressive symptoms: a randomized trial

“…Moreover, Tai Chi is beneficial in improving older person’s physical and psychological well-being. Evidence from clinical data have identified Tai Chi plays an important role in improving chronic diseases such as hypertension [ 4 ], chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and chronic heart failure [ 5 ], preventing falls [ 6 ], controlling blood glucose [ 7 ], and alleviating psychological symptoms such as depression and anxiety [ 8 – 10 ] in the old peoples.…”