Evidence Base of Clinical Studies on Tai Chi: A Bibliometric Analysis.


Author: Yang GY1, Wang LQ1, Ren J1, Zhang Y2, Li ML2, Zhu YT2, Luo J3, Cheng YJ4, Li WY1, Wayne PM5, Liu JP6.

Affiliation: 1Centre for Evidence-based Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China. 2School of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China. 3School of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China; Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China. 4School of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China; Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China. 5Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. 6Centre for Evidence-based Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China; School of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Conference/Journal: PLoS One. 
Date published: 2015 Mar 16
Other:
 Volume ID: 10   ,  Issue ID: 3   ,  Pages: e0120655   ,  Special Notes: doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0120655   ,  Word Count: 294  
    

BACKGROUND:

The safety and health benefits of Tai Chi mind-body exercise has been documented in a large number of clinical studies focused on specific diseases and health conditions. The objective of this systematic review is to more comprehensively summarize the evidence base of clinical studies of Tai Chi for healthcare.

METHODS AND FINDINGS:

We searched for all types of clinical studies on Tai chi in PubMed, the Cochrane Library and four major Chinese electronic databases from their inception to July 2013. Data were analyzed using SPSS17.0 software. A total of 507 studies published between 1958 and 2013 were identified, including 43 (8.3%) systematic reviews of clinical studies, 255 (50.3%) randomized clinical trials, 90 (17.8%) non-randomized controlled clinical studies, 115 (22.7%) case series and 4 (0.8%) case reports. The top 10 diseases/conditions was hypertension, diabetes, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis or osteopenia, breast cancer, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease, schizophrenia, and depression. Many healthy participants practiced Tai Chi for the purpose of health promotion or preservation. Yang style Tai Chi was the most popular, and Tai Chi was frequently practiced two to three 1-hour sessions per week for 12 weeks. Tai Chi was used alone in more than half of the studies (58.6%), while in other studies Tai Chi was applied in combination with other therapies including medications, health education and other physical therapies. The majority of studies (94.1%) reported positive effects of Tai Chi, 5.1% studies reported uncertain effects and 0.8% studies reported negative effects. No serious adverse events related to Tai Chi were reported.

CONCLUSIONS:

The quantity and evidence base of clinical studies on Tai Chi is substantial. However, there is a wide variation in Tai Chi intervention studied and the reporting of Tai Chi intervention needs to be improved. Further well-designed and reported studies are recommended to confirm the effects of Tai Chi for the frequently reported diseases/conditions.

PMID: 25775125