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 hyperglycemia represent significant health problems worldwide. In the search for effective treatment approaches, interest in mind-body therapies, particularly Tai Chi, has increased. Tai Chi is a form of gentle movement therapy that has roots in ancient Chinese martial arts traditions. This research study, published in December 2024, quantitatively examined the effects of Tai Chi on blood pressure, lipid levels and glucose concentrations in older people to identify the optimal intervention protocol.

The study analyzed data from a variety of databases that included research papers in English, Korean and Chinese languages. 57 studies with a total of 3,856 participants were included in the analysis. The results show that Tai Chi can help improve systolic and diastolic blood pressure, triglyceride levels and fasting blood sugar levels in older people. Particularly positive effects were found in male patients with high blood pressure and elevated blood sugar and lipid levels.

It is recommended to practice Tai Chi for at least 16 weeks, with each session lasting 30-50 minutes and occurring 6-7 times per week. What is interesting is that the effects were independent of the Tai Chi style, indicating a broad applicability of this practice.

In the future, Tai Chi could play an important role in preventative medicine and the treatment of cardiovascular disease by providing an easily accessible and cost-effective method of improving health. For physicians and healthcare providers, this could lead to a rethinking of treatment strategies, particularly with regard to non-pharmacological interventions.

Basic terms and concepts:

• Hypertonie: Medizinischer Fachbegriff für hohen Blutdruck.
• Hyperlipidämie: Übermäßig hohe Konzentration von Fetten im Blut, insbesondere von Cholesterin und Triglyceriden.
• Hyperglykämie: Ein Zustand, bei dem eine übermäßig hohe Glukosekonzentration im Blutkreislauf vorliegt, häufig ein Zeichen von Diabetes.
• Tai Chi: Eine chinesische Körper-Geist-Übung, die durch langsame und fließende Bewegungen charakterisiert wird.
• Systolischer/diastolischer Blutdruck (SBP/DBP): Der systolische Blutdruck repräsentiert den höchsten Druck in den Arterien, während der diastolische Wert den niedrigsten Druck angibt.
• Triglyceride (TG): Eine Art von Fett (Lipid) im Blut, das Energie liefert oder im Körper gespeichert wird.
• Nüchternblutzucker (FBG): Glukosekonzentration im Blut nach einem Zeitraum ohne Nahrungsaufnahme, ein wichtiger Indikator für Diabetes.

Quantitative effects of Tai Chi on blood pressure, lipid levels and glucose concentrations in the elderly

Research summary:The study examined the impact of Tai Chi on blood pressure, lipid and glucose levels in older individuals. Through analysis of 57 studies involving 3,856 participants, Tai Chi was shown to significantly improve systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), triglycerides (TG), and fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels. The positive effect was particularly highlighted in male patients with hypertension, hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia.

methodology

Multilingual databases such as Web of Science, PubMed, CNKI, WANFANG DATA, RISS, KISS and DBPIA were used to record relevant studies, with the search strategy using terms such as “taijiquan” or “Tai Chi” in combination with “blood pressure”, “BP”, “fasting blood sugar”, “FBG”, “triglyceride” and “TG”. included. The studies were selected according to the PICOS scheme and the risk of bias was assessed using the RoB 2.0 tool. Data analysis was performed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 3.7 software.

Results

Tai Chi led to an overall improvement in SBP (effect size = -0.764, p < .001), DBP (effect size = -0.426, p = .001), TG (effect size = -0.452, p < .001) and FBG (effect size = -0.552, p = .002). A subgroup analysis revealed that the effects depended on the characteristics of the study participants and the specific intervention protocols.

conclusion

Regular practice of Tai Chi is an effective method to reduce blood pressure, fasting blood glucose levels, and triglyceride concentrations in middle-aged to elderly individuals. The intervention shows particularly clear effects in male patients with hypertension, hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia. It is recommended to practice Tai Chi for at least 16 weeks, with each session lasting 30-50 minutes and taking place 6-7 times per week, regardless of the Tai Chi style.

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