Qigong Therapy for Stress Management: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials
Author: Jung-Ho Oh1, Soo-Hyun Sung2, Jang-Kyung Park3, Soobin Jang4, Byung-Cheul Shin5,6, Sangnam Lee1
Affiliation:
1 Department of Qigong, College of Korean Medicine, Daegu Haany University, Gyeongsan 38609, Republic of Korea.
2 Department of Policy Development, National Institute for Korean Medicine Development, Seoul 04516, Republic of Korea.
3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University Korean Medicine Hospital, Yangsan 50612, Republic of Korea.
4 Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Daegu Haany University, Gyeongsan 38609, Republic of Korea.
5 Division of Clinical Medicine, School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University, Yangsan 50612, Republic of Korea.
6 Department of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation, Pusan National University Korean Medicine Hospital, Yangsan 50612, Republic of Korea.
Conference/Journal: Healthcare (Basel)
Date published: 2024 Nov 23
Other:
Volume ID: 12 , Issue ID: 23 , Pages: 2342 , Special Notes: doi: 10.3390/healthcare12232342. , Word Count: 336
Background/objective:
Althouth Qigong is commonly used to manage stress, anxiety, and depression, there have been no systematic reviews on Qigong therapy for stress management. This study aimed to analyze the clinical evidence of Qigong therapy for perceived stress.
Methods:
We conducted a systematic search for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of Qigong using 11 electronic databases, namely MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, CINAHL, and Korean Medical databases (Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, Korean traditional knowledge portal, KoreaMed, OASIS, RISS, and the National Library of Korea). We considered RCTs in which participants with perceived stress with no restrictions on age, gender, or ethnicity. Two reviewers independently assessed risk of bias of the included RCTs using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Nine RCTs (China: n = 5, South Korea: n = 2, United States: n = 1, Brunei Darussalam: n = 1) were included in the systematic review.
Results:
The quality of the included trials was generally low, as only one was rated as high quality. For the primary outcome, a meta-analysis of two RCTs showed statistically significant results on the perceived stress scale comparing the Qigong therapy group with the no-treatment group (OR -0.60; 95% CI -1.02 to -0.17; p = 0.006). The results of three other studies showed that Qigong therapy had no significant effect compared to active-control therapy on the perceived stress scale outcome (OR -2.10; 95% CI -4.68 to 0.47; p = 0.11). Regarding the secondary outcomes, including depression, anxiety scale, and quality of life, the Qigong group showed statistical improvements in most studies; however, there was no difference in the pain scale between the two groups. In two studies, no adverse events occurred, whereas in one study, six cases (24% of participants) of mild muscle soreness were reported.
Conclusions:
This systematic review suggests the potential of Qigong therapy for stress management; however, it is difficult to draw specific conclusions. Future studies should standardize Qigong interventions and outcomes, establish sham control groups, and include larger sample sizes in RCTs.
Keywords: Qigong; anxiety; depression; meta-analysis; quality of life; stress reduction.
PMID: 39684964 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare12232342
BACK
