Tai Chi lowers blood pressure and sugar: new hope for the elderly

Tai Chi lowers blood pressure and sugar: new hope for the elderly

hypertension, hyperlipidemia and hyperglycaemia represent significant health problems worldwide. In search of effective treatment approaches, interest in body-spirit therapies, especially in Tai Chi, has increased. Tai Chi is a form of gentle movement therapy that has roots in old Chinese Martial Arts traditions. This research study, published in December 2024, examined the effects of Tai Chi on blood pressure, lipid values ​​and glucose concentrations in older people to identify the optimal intervention protocol.

The study analyzed data from a large number of databases that included research in English, Korean and Chinese. 57 studies with a total of 3,856 participants were included in the evaluation. The results show that Tai Chi can help to improve the systolic and diastolic blood pressure, the triglyceride values ​​and sober blood sugar levels in older people. Particularly positive effects were found in male patients with high blood pressure, increased blood sugar and lipid values.

It is recommended to practice Tai Chi for at least 16 weeks, with each session taking 30-50 minutes and should take place 6-7 times a week. It is interesting that the effects were independent of the respective Tai Chi style, which indicates a broad applicability of this practice.

basic terms and concepts:

• hypertension: medical technical term for high blood pressure.
• hyperlipidemia: Excessive high concentration of fats in the blood, especially cholesterol and triglycerides.
• hyperglycaemia: A condition in which an excessively high glucose concentration in the bloodstream is often a sign of diabetes.
• tai chi: a Chinese body-spirit exercise that is characterized by slow and flowing movements.
• systolic/diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP): The systolic blood pressure represents the highest pressure in the arteries, while the diastolic value indicates the lowest pressure.
• triglyceride (TG): a kind of fat (lipid) in the blood that delivers energy or is stored in the body.
• sober blood sugar (FBG): glucose concentration in the blood after a period without food intake, an important indicator of diabetes.

quantitative effects of Tai Chi on blood pressure, lipid levels and glucose concentrations in older people

Summary of research: The study examined the influence of Tai Chi on blood pressure, lipid and glucose level in older individuals. The analysis of 57 studies with 3.856 participants showed that Tai Chi systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), triglycerides (TG) and sober -blood sugar level (FBG) significantly improved. The positive effect was particularly emphasized in male patients with hypertension, hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia.

methodology

For recording relevant studies, multilingual databases such as web of science, pubmed, cnki, wanfang Data, Riss, Kiss and Dbpia were used, whereby the search strategy terms such as "Taijiquan" or "Tai Chi" in combination with "blood pressure", "BP", "Soberblutz sugar", "FBG", "Triglyceride" and "TG" included. The studies were selected according to the PICOS scheme and the evaluation of the bias risk with the Rob 2.0 instrument. The data analysis was carried out with the comprehensive meta-analysis 3.7 software.

results

Tai Chi overall improving SBP (effect size = -0.764, p <.001), DBP (effect thickness = -0.426, p = .001), TG (effect thickness = -0.452, p <.001) and FBG (effect size = -0.552, p = .002). A subgroup analysis revealed that the effects of the characteristics of the study participants and the specific intervention protocols were dependent.

conclusion

The regular practice of Tai Chi represents an effective method to reduce blood pressure, sober -blood sugar levels and triglyceride concentrations in mediums to older people. The intervention shows particularly clear effects in male patients with hypertension, hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia. Accordingly, the exercise of Tai Chi is recommended for at least 16 weeks, with each session lasting 30-50 minutes and should take place 6-7 times a week, regardless of the Tai Chi style.

For further details we refer to the original research work: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38259166 .