The effect of Tai Chi and Qigong on health-related quality of life in Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of systematic reviews

• Published in: International journal of rehabilitation research Vol. 42; no. 3; pp. 196 - 204
• Main Authors: Fidan, Oznur, Seyyar, Gulce Kallem, Aras, Bahar, Colak, Ertugrul, Aras, Ozgen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Copyright Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved 01-09-2019; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Ovid Technologies
• Subjects: Control Groups; Fuzzy sets; Humans; Martial arts; Meta Analysis; Parkinson Disease - psychology; Parkinson Disease - rehabilitation; Parkinson's disease; Patients; Qigong; Quality of Life; Systematic review; Tai Ji
• ISSN: 0342-5282; 1473-5660
• DOI: 10.1097/MRR.0000000000000358

The overall aim of the treatment in Parkinson’s disease is to optimize functional independence, safety, well-being and thereby health-related quality of life. Tai Chi and Qigong are widely used exercises in Parkinson’s disease, but there is insufficient evidence to support or refute the efficacy of Tai Chi and Qigong, especially on health-related quality of life in patients with Parkinson’s disease. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and a meta-analysis from the systematic reviews that evaluate the effectiveness of Tai Chi and Qigong on health-related quality of life in Parkinson’s disease. A comprehensive literature search was conducted to identify the systematic reviews and meta-analyses by using Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, PubMed, etc., databases up to the end of November 2018. From 1504 articles, seven fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in our study. Five of the included systematic reviews were about Tai Chi, and two of them were about both Tai Chi and Qigong. According to our meta-analysis, there was no significant effect of Tai Chi and Qigong on health-related quality of life in patients with Parkinson’s disease, when compared to the control group (standardized mean difference −0.166, 95% confidence interval −0.676 to 0.344; P = 0.523). In conclusion, our systematic review and meta-analysis showed no significant effect of Tai Chi and Qigong statistically on health-related quality of life in patients with Parkinson’s disease, but the small effect size in our study favoured the potential benefit of Tai Chi and Qigong on health-related quality of life in Parkinson’s disease.