2022, Volume 18
The effect of tai chi exercise on hypertension and hyperlipidemia – a systematic study and meta-analysis
Han Luxuan1, Yu Weiwei2, Artur Kruszewski3, Jinming Xing4, Ilia Cherkashin5, Yuyao Wei4, Elena Cherkashina5, Marek Kruszewski3, Andrzej Tomczak6
1School of physical Education North-East Normal University, Jilin China, Jilin , China
2Suan Sunan Rajabhat University, Bangkok, Thailand
3Department of Individual Sports, Jozef Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw,, Warsaw, Poland
4School of physical Education North-East Normal University, Jilin China, Jilin, China
5Hainan Normal University, Haikou, China
6Independent scientist, Warsaw, Poland
Author for correspondence: Jinming Xing; School of physical Education North-East Normal University, Jilin China, Jilin, China; email: xingjm100@nenu.edu.cn
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Abstract
Background and Study Aim: According to the World Health Organization, about 17.7 million people died of cardiovascular diseases worldwide in 2015, accounting for 31% of all global deaths. Various risk factors for cardiovascular diseases contribute to the increase in the number of people with cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study was knowledge about the effect of tai chi exercise on the control of blood pressure values and other biochemical indices and the period and intensity of exercise in hypertensive patients.
Material and Methods: Computer search of Chinese and English databases. Including China Knowledge Network (CNKI), Web of Science (WOS), PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and others. The search terms were interventions: taijiquan, taiji, tai chi, tai chi chuan, and: ʺhypertensionʺ, ʺhigh blood pressureʺ. The search was conducted by subject term + keyword, and the search time was from the library construction to January 2022. The included literature was forest plotted using Review Manager 5.4.1 software, and effect sizes were calculated using standardized mean differences (SMD) for analysis and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for fixed and random effect models. Effect sizes were estimated when SMD ≥0.2 was small, SMD ≥0.5 was moderate, and SMD ≥0.8 was large. Results p<0.05 were defined as having a significant effect.
Results: The results of tai chi intervention group compared with no intervention, usual care, and walking showed that the tai chi intervention group was more effective in blood pressure control compared with the control group, where the systolic blood pressure results were significant. Tai chi intervention was more effective in triglyceride, total cholesterol, and LDL control, but the total cholesterol and LDL results were not statistically significant. The cycle difference in tai chi exercise was not significantly associated with the effect on blood pressure control. More influential on blood pressure controls were the intensity of a single tai chi session and the frequency of tai chi training. The intensity of a single taijiquan exercise was correlated with the blood pressure control effect, and adherence to taijiquan exercise for more than 12 weeks and maintaining a single training time of 40 minutes or more could effectively control blood pressure.
Conclusions: Consistent participation in taijiquan exercise can effectively control blood pressure. The classification of the period and intensity of tai chi interventions was crude, and only roughly classified the intensity levels of tai chi interventions. This is why follow-up studies could be more detailed in a scientific sense when it comes to classifying the intensity of tai chi interventions.
Key words: blood pressure, physical activity, intensity of exercise, taijiquan