Author: Park JE1, Kim JE2, Jung S2, Kim A2, Park H2, Hong S3
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup>Mibyeong Research Center, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
<sup>2</sup>Clinical Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
<sup>3</sup>Department of Internal Medicine, Dongeui Oriental Hospital of Dongeui University, Busan, Republic of Korea.
Conference/Journal: Evid Based Complement Alternat Med.
Date published: 2017
Other:
Volume ID: 2017 , Pages: 4274538 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1155/2017/4274538. Epub 2017 Oct 19. , Word Count: 202
Although several previous studies have reported the effect of qigong on lowering blood pressure, rigorous trials are lacking. Studies evaluating the effect of qigong on prehypertension are also scarce. This study aimed to assess the effect of qigong on prehypertension and mild hypertension. Participants with prehypertension or mild hypertension were randomized to the Dongeui qigong group or a nontreated control group. In the qigong group, Dongeui qigong was administered 5 times/week for 12 weeks. The control group did not receive any intervention for blood pressure control. Fifty-two participants were included in this study. Even though diastolic blood pressure was significantly reduced in the qigong group after 8 weeks (p = 0.04) compared to baseline, the difference in change in blood pressure between the qigong and control groups was not significant. There were no significant differences in quality of life between the qigong and control groups. Dongeui qigong is not significantly effective in pre/mild hypertension compared with controls. This result could be due to a lack of effect of qigong or caused by other factors, such as the type of qigong, target symptoms, inappropriate sample size, and compliance of participants. Trial Registration. This trial is registered with KCT0001397 (Clinical Research Information Service).
PMID: 29234395 PMCID: PMC5671714 DOI: 10.1155/2017/4274538