Effect of a 16-Session Qigong Program in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Survivors: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Author: Keyla Vargas-Román1,2, Emilia I De la Fuente-Solana3, Jonathan Cortés-Martín1, Juan Carlos Sánchez-García1,4, Christian J González-Vargas5, Lourdes Díaz-Rodríguez1,4
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> Research Group CTS1068, Andalusia Research Plan, Junta de Andalucía, 18014 Granada, Spain. <sup>2</sup> Spanish Education Ministry Program FPU16/01437, Methodology of Behavioral Sciences Department, Faculty of Psychology, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain. <sup>3</sup> Methodology of Behavioral Sciences Department, Faculty of Psychology, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain. <sup>4</sup> Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Granada, 18016 Granada, Spain. <sup>5</sup> Fulton Schools of Engineering Department, Faculty of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA.
Conference/Journal: J Clin Med
Date published: 2022 Jun 14
Other: Volume ID: 11 , Issue ID: 12 , Pages: 3421 , Special Notes: doi: 10.3390/jcm11123421. , Word Count: 246

Background:
The treatment associated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients may cause adverse effects on their physical and psychological condition. The aim of this study is to detect the response to an eight-week, 16-session, 60-min presential Qigong program in anxiety, depression and vagal nerve activity alongside a control group.

Methods:
A randomized controlled clinical trial was managed. Randomization was carried out by generating a numerical sequence of three cycles through the software EPIDAT 4.1. Numbers were placed in sealed opaque envelopes for assignment to the different groups.

Results:
Anxiety levels were substantially decreased in the experimental group, with a large effect size (F = 30.38, p &lt; 0.00). Depression levels had an improvement in the experimental group in contrast to the control group, reaching statistical significance (F = 19.19, p &lt; 0.00). Heart Rate Variability unveiled significant results in terms of between-group differences, with a large effect size in the HRV Index (F = 15.80, p &lt; 0.00), SDNN (F = 8.82, p &lt; 0.00), and RMSSD (F = 6.72, p &lt; 0.01) in the time domain, and a medium effect size in the HF (F = 9.78, p &lt; 0.003), LF (F = 9.78, p &lt; 0.00), and LF/HF Ratio (F = 18.44, p &lt; 0.00) in the frequency domain, which were all bettered in the experimental group, after the Qigong program.

Conclusions:
Qigong therapy can be an effective therapeutic activity in consonance with traditional medicine to improve psychological health and autonomic nervous system balance in non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivors.

Keywords: HRV; anxiety; autonomic nervous system; depression; lymphoma cancer; non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

PMID: 35743490 DOI: 10.3390/jcm11123421