Evidence map of traditional Chinese exercises
Author: Yan Yu1, Tongtong Wu1, Murou Wu1, Shaonan Liu2,3, Xueyin Chen3, Jinpeng Wu4, Xinfeng Guo2,3, Lihong Yang3
Affiliation:
1 The Second Clinical Medical College of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
2 State Key Laboratory of Dampness Syndrome of Chinese Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
3 The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine (Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Guangzhou, China.
4 Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China.
Conference/Journal: Front Public Health
Date published: 2024 Sep 18
Other:
Volume ID: 12 , Pages: 1347201 , Special Notes: doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1347201. , Word Count: 236
Objective:
This study aimed to assess and visually depict the clinical evidence landscape of traditional Chinese exercises and identify any research gaps and future research needs.
Methods:
We comprehensively searched seven Chinese and English databases to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews (SRs) evaluating the effects of traditional Chinese exercises from their inception until May 2023. The quality of evidence was assessed via the GRADE approach, and the research topics, intervention effects, and strength of evidence were graphically displayed.
Results:
This evidence map includes 2,017 studies, comprising 1,822 RCTs and 195 SRs. These studies were conducted globally in various countries. Among the traditional Chinese exercises, Tai Chi and Baduanjin have received the most research attention, with a growing number of publications. When traditional Chinese exercises were compared with the control groups, 88.2% of the included SRs reported significantly positive effects, 4.1% reported unclear effects, and 7.7% reported no significant differences. The findings suggested that traditional Chinese exercises could benefit patients with osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke, Parkinson's disease, anxiety, and depression. However, the overall quality of the evidence was suboptimal, with 11.3% rated as moderate, 45.6% as low, and 43.1% as critically low.
Conclusion:
This evidence map visually represents valuable information on traditional Chinese exercises. While most studies have reported significant benefits, the overall quality of evidence is low.
Keywords: Tai Chi; evidence map; randomized controlled trials; systematic reviews; traditional Chinese exercises.
PMID: 39360254 PMCID: PMC11445016 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1347201
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