Comparison between tai chi and square dance on the anti-hypertensive effect and cardiovascular disease risk factors in patients with essential hypertension: a 12-week randomized controlled trial
Author: Zhi-Wei Yan1, Zhen Yang2, Jing-Hui Yang3, Cheng-Lin Song1, Zhuang Zhao4, Yan Gao5
Affiliation:
1 Department of Sports Rehabilitation, College of Human Kinesiology, Shenyang Sport University, Shenyang, China.
2 Moray House School of Education and Sport, the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
3 Department of Physical Therapy, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
4 College of Martial Arts & Dance, Shenyang Sport University, Shenyang, China.
5 Department of Sports Rehabilitation, College of Human Kinesiology, Shenyang Sport University, Shenyang, China - sytyxygy@163.com.
Conference/Journal: J Sports Med Phys Fitness
Date published: 2022 Feb 18
Other:
Special Notes: doi: 10.23736/S0022-4707.22.13424-9. , Word Count: 247
Background:
The prevalence of essential hypertension increases consistently among middle-aged and older adults in China. Aims of this study are to explore the impact of Tai Chi and square dance, which are popular in China, on anti-hypertensive effects and cardiovascular disease risk factors in patients with essential hypertension.
Methods:
Patients with essential hypertension were randomly assigned to either a Tai Chi group, a square dance group or a control group. Blood pressure, cardiorespiratory fitness, and cardiovascular disease risk factors were measured at baseline and at the end of the 12-week intervention. The duration and frequency of both intervention exercises were 60 minutes per session, and 5 sessions per week.
Results:
A total of 144 participants (59.89±6.85 years, 34.72% male) completed the study. The repeated-measures analysis of variance demonstrated a significant effect of time on BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and cardiorespiratory fitness in patients with essential hypertension (p<0.05), whereas no significant effect was observed on waistto-hip ratio and body fat percentage (p>0.05). Post hoc analyses showed that only intervention groups had significant differences in blood pressure and cardiorespiratory fitness compared to the control group, while Tai Chi had greater effect sizes than square dance.
Conclusions:
Both Tai Chi and square dance can promote cardiorespiratory fitness and reduce BMI and blood pressure among patients with essential hypertension, whereas there was no significant difference between the two exercises. However, both Tai Chi and square dance were ineffective in reducing some of the cardiovascular disease risk factors.
PMID: 35179334 DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.22.13424-9
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