Author: Leona Yuen Ling Leung1, Hon Lon Tam2, Jonathan Ka Ming Ho3
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> The Ronin Institute, Montclair, NJ 07043-2314, USA; Canadian Academy of Independent Scholar, Vancouver, Canada.
<sup>2</sup> Kiang Wu Nursing College of Macau, Macau; The Nethersole School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Electronic address: alantam@kwnc.edu.mo.
<sup>3</sup> School of Nursing and Health Studies, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong.
Conference/Journal: Arch Gerontol Geriatr
Date published: 2022 Aug 27
Other:
Volume ID: 103 , Pages: 104796 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2022.104796. , Word Count: 219
This overview study examined and synthesized the effect of Tai Chi (TC) on the physical conditions, psychological conditions, cognitive abilities, and quality of life (QoL) of older adults. This study was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 statement. Using Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Methodology Register, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, English-language systematic reviews (SRs) published within the latest decade (2010-2020) were included. SRs with meta-analysis were selected if TC was the examined intervention and older adults was the targeted population. A total of 16 SRs covering 89 original studies were included. A number of the pooled results of the included SRs were inconclusive. Taking into consideration of the new meta-analyses of this study, TC significantly improved most outcomes, including the mobility, pain level, physical function, psychological distress, depressive symptoms, anxiety, global cognitive function, mental speed and attention, learning ability, verbal fluency, executive function, and QoL of older adults. TC can be an effective intervention for older adults for improving physical and psychological conditions, cognitive abilities, and QoL. Additional high-quality studies with larger samples investigating the effectiveness of TC in older adults are warranted.
Keywords: CRD42021245421; Cognitive abilities; Older adults; PROSPERO registration number; Physical conditions; Psychological conditions; Quality of life; Tai chi.
PMID: 36058045 DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2022.104796