Associations Between Tai Chi Chung Program, Anxiety, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors.
Author: Chang MY, Yeh SC, Chu MC, Wu TM, Huang TH.
Affiliation:
Mei-Ying Chang, PhD, RN, and Mei-Chi Chu, BS, RN, are with the Graduate Institute of Integration of Traditional Chinese Medicine With Western Nursing, College of Nursing, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei, Taiwan. Shu-Chuan Jennifer Yeh, PhD, RN, is with the Institute of Health Care Management & Department of Business Management, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Tsung-Mao Wu, BS, is with the Department of Psychology, Eastern Washington University, Bellevue, Washington. Tse-Hung Huang, MD, is with the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung, Taiwan, and the Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Conference/Journal: Am J Health Promot.
Date published: 2013 Mar 7
Other:
Word Count: 209
Abstract Purpose. To examine the effects of a Tai Chi Chung (TCC) program, an efficiency approach, on anxiety and cardiovascular risk factors. Design. A quasi-experimental study. Setting. A community in Taipei City, Taiwan. Subjects. One hundred thirty-three adults aged 55 years and older. Intervention. Sixty-four participants (experimental group) attended a 60-minute Tai Chi exercise three times per week for 12 weeks, whereas 69 participants (control group) maintained their usual daily activities. Measures. Anxiety states, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference (WC) were assessed at baseline, 6 weeks into the experiment, and 12 weeks into the experiment. Analysis. Generalized estimating equations were used to evaluate the changes. Results. Participants showed a greater drop in anxiety levels (β = -2.57, p = .001) and DBP (β = -7.02, p < .001) at the 12-week follow-up than did the controls. SBP significantly decreased in the 6-week follow-up and 12-week follow-up tests. The participants in the intervention achieved a greater drop in BMI at the 6-week and 12-week follow-up visits than the controls. The interventions demonstrated decreased average WC at the 6-week and 12-week follow-up visits as compared to the controls. Conclusion. The results highlight the long-term benefits of a TCC program in facilitating health promotion by reducing anxiety and risk factors for cardiovascular diseases.
PMID: 23470186
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