Table 1.
Characteristics of the included studies
| Study author, year (Country/Language) |
Population | Intervention | Comparison | Outcome measurement | Safety monitoring |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disease-related characteristics | E (M:F) | C (M:F) | Age, years (group)b | TCQ type | Intensity (time × session/W × duration) |
Setting | Physical function | Cognitive function | |||
|
Taylor-Piliae, 2010 [40] (USA/English)a |
Age ≥ 60 years, healthy | 37 (13:24) |
AC: 39 (11:28) UC: 56 (16:40) |
70.6 ± 5.9 (E) 68.5 ± 5.0 (AC) 68.2 ± 6.2 (UC) |
Tai Chi, 12-form Yang style |
1) Adoption phase: 1 h × 5/W (group × 2 + home × 3) × 12 Ws 2) Maintenance phase: 1 h × 4/W(group × 1 + home × 3) × 12 Ws |
Community |
1) Western exercise 2) Healthy-aging education |
OLS FRT Arm curls Chair-stand test Back-scratch test Sit-and-reach test |
Animal-naming test Digit span forward Digit span backward |
NI |
|
Lavretsky, 2011 [73] (USA/English) |
Age ≥ 60 years, geriatric depression | 36 (13:23) | 37 (15:22) |
69.1 ± 7.0 (E) 72.0 ± 7.4 (C) |
Tai Chi | Group: 2 h × 1/W × 10 Ws | Community | Health education | SF-36 (physical health) |
MMSE CVLT TMT B–A |
No adverse events |
|
Tsai, 2013 [74] (USA/English) |
Age ≥ 60 years, mild-to-moderate CI with knee OA | 28 (6:22) | 27 (9:18) |
78.9 ± 6.9 (E) 78.9 ± 8.3 (C) |
Tai Chi, 12-form Sun style | Group: 20–40 min × 3/W × 20 W | Community | Health education, culture-related activities, and social activities |
WOMAC (physical functioning) TUG test Sit-to-stand test |
MMSE | No adverse events |
|
Tsang, 2013 [75] (Hong Kong/English) |
Age ≥ 60 years, frail |
61 (14:47) | 55 (15:40) |
83.3 ± 6.3 (E) 84.9 ± 6.0 (C) |
Novel health Qigong | Group: 1 h × 2/W × 12 Ws | Elderly service unit at hospital | Newspaper reading |
Handgrip strength TUG test |
LOTCA-G | No adverse events |
|
Lam, 2014 [76] (Hong Kong/English) |
Age ≥ 65 years, MCI or amnestic MCI | 171 (46:125) | 218 (46:172) |
77.2 ± 6.3 (E) 78.3 ± 6.6 (C) |
Tai Chi, 24 style |
1) Adoption phase: group, 30 min × 3/W × 4–6Ws 2) Maintenance phase: home, 30 min × 3/W × 46–48 Ws, refresher lessons every month |
Residential home | Stretching and relaxation exercises | BBS |
ADA MMSE Digit span backward Visual span backward Delay recall Verbal fluency |
NI |
|
Sun, 2015 [77] (China/English) |
Age ≥ 60 years, healthy | 72 (14:48) | 66 (20:46) |
68.3 ± 5.9 © 70.1 ± 5.7 (C) |
Tai Chi, 24-form Yang style | Group: 1 h × 2/W × 6 Ms | Community | Nonathletic care |
OLS 5-m high walking speed 10-m normal walking speed Handgrip strength (both) |
MMSE | NI |
|
Hwang, 2016 [78] (Taiwan/English) |
Age ≥ 60 years, fall risk | 228 (75:153) | 228 (77:151) |
72.0 ± 8.1 (E) 72.7 ± 8.1 (C) |
Tai Chi, 18-form Yang style | Individual: 1 h × 1/W × 6 Ms, self-practice every day | Community | Lower extremity training |
Handgrip strength (right hand) Tinetti balance test Tinetti gait test |
MMSE | No adverse events |
|
Lu, 2016 [79] (Hong Kong/English) |
Healthy female older adults | 15 (0:15) | 16 (0:16) |
72.8 ± 6.7 (E) 67.3 ± 6.6 (C) |
Tai Chi, 12-form Yang style | Group: 90 min × 3/W × 16 Ws | Community | Usual care | Computerized gait analysis | Auditory Stroop test: single/dual task | No adverse events |
|
Sungkarat, 2017 [21] (Thailand/English) |
Age ≥ 60 years, MCI | 33 (2:31) | 33 (7:26) |
68.3 ± 6.7 (E) 67.5 ± 7.3 (C) |
Tai Chi, 10-form style |
1) Group: 50 min × 3/W × 3 Ws 2) Home: 50 min × 3/W × 12 Ws |
Community | Educational material | PPA |
Wechsler Memory Scale; delayed recall Block-design test Digit span forward/backward TMT B–A |
No adverse events |
|
van West, 2018 [80] (New Zealand/English) |
Age ≥ 60 years, healthy | 43 (11:32) | 36 (7:29) |
69.1 [60-86] (E) 67.6 [60-80] (C) |
Tai Chi, 18-form Yang style | Group:1 h × 2/W × 4 Ws | NI | International POI |
FRT Four-stage balance test Pinch and handgrip strength Chair-stand test ROM; wrist, elbow, and shoulder |
NCI; average of five domain scores (composite memory, psychomotor speed, reaction time, complex attention, and cognitive flexibility) | NI |
|
Li, 2018 [81] (China/Chinese) |
Age 60–70 years, MCI | 10 | 10 |
61.4 ± 1.84 (E) 62.1 ± 2.08 (C) |
Qigong, Baduanjin |
1) Adoption phase: group 60 min × 5/W × 2 Ws 2) Maintenance phase: group 60 min × 5/W × 14 Ws |
Community | Usual care |
CM-PPT Computerized gait analysis |
Erikson flanker task More-odd shifting task 2-back task |
Adjust the exercise intensity according to heart rate |
|
Lipsitz, 2019 [82] (USA/English) |
Age ≥ 60 years, healthy | 93 (30:63) | 87 (30:57) |
75.9 ± 9.1 (E) 74.6 ± 8.6 (C) |
Tai Chi, 9-form Yang style |
Group intervention × 2/W and home practice 20 min × 3/W × 52 Ws (6-month effect reported as a recommendation to end the trial by the Data and Safety Monitoring Board) |
Housing facility | Health education (monthly) |
SPPB SF-12 (physical health) PASE Gait velocity |
TMT: B–A | Minor musculoskeletal complaints |
|
Chewning, 2020 [83] (USA/English) |
Age ≥ 65 years, Fall risk | 94 (18:76) | 103 (13:90) |
75.0 ± 7.4 (E) 72.8 ± 7.0 (C) |
Tai Chi, Yang style |
Group: 1.5 h × 2/W × 6 Ws and home-practice coaching |
Community | No treatment |
TUG test Chair-stand test Four-stage balance test |
TMT B | NI |
|
Zheng, 2020 [84] (China/English) |
Age 45–75 years, stroke survivors with MCI | 24 (19:5) | 24 (22:2) |
61.6 ± 9.2 (E) 62.8 ± 6.4 (C) |
Qigong, Baduanjin | Group: 40 min × 3/W × 24 Ws | Community | No treatment | MBI |
MoCA TMT: B–A AVLT TAP DSC CDT |
No adverse events |
|
Wu, 2021 [85] (China/English) |
Age 50–85 years, Healthy | 19 (4:15) | 19 (1:18) |
63.6 ± 4.0 (E) 63.2 ± 4.4 (C) |
Tai Chi, 24-form Yang style | Group: 60 min × tri-weekly × 12 Ws | NI | Telephone consultation (every other week) |
Knee extensor strength, 6MWT |
IED | NI |
|
Jiayuan, 2022 [86] (China,/English) |
Age ≥ 65 years, Prefrail and frail |
31 (11:18) | 30 (13:17) |
71.7 ± 3.9 (E) 70.8 ± 4.2 (C) |
Tai Chi, 24-form Yang style |
1) 1st stage: Group 60 min × 2/W × 3 Ms 2) 2nd stage: Individual practice 60 min × 2/W × 3 Ms |
Community | Booklet about mindfulness skill |
SPPB TUG test Chair-stand test |
MMSE | NI |
|
Lavretsky, 2022 [87] (USA/English) |
Age ≥ 60 years, geriatric depression | 89 (27:62) | 89 (22:67) |
69.2 ± 6.9 (E) 69.4 ± 6.2 (C) |
Tai Chi |
1) Group: 60 min × 1/W × 6 Ws and home practice for 20 min/day using handouts 2) Virtual: 60 min × 1/W × 6 Ws and home practice for 20 min/day using handouts |
Community | Health education and wellness training | SF-36 |
CVLT ROCFT TMT: B–A Stroop interference COWAT Animal fluency Boston Naming Test |
No adverse events |
Abbreviations: M Male, F Female, E Experimental group, C Control group, AC Active control group, UC Usual care group, TCQ Tai Chi and Qigong, M Month, W Week, NI No information, MCI Mild cognitive impairment, 6MWT 6-min walk test, ADA Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale, AVLT Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, BBS Berg Balance Scale, CDT Clock-drawing task, CI Cerebral infarction, CM-PPT Chinese Mini Physical Performance Test, COWAT Controlled Oral Word Association Test, CVLT California Verbal Learning Test, DSC Digit symbol coding, FRT Functional reach test, IED Intra-Extra Dimensional Set Shift, LOTCA-G Loewenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment–Geriatric, MBI Modified Barthel Index, MCI Mild cognitive impairment, MMSE Mini Mental Status Examination, MoCA Montreal Cognitive Assessment, NCI Neurocognition index, OA Osteoarthritis, OLS One-leg-standing test, PASE Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly, PPA Physiological profile assessment, ROCFT Rey Complex Figure Test, ROM Range of motion, SF-12 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey, SF-36 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey, SPPB Short Physical Performance Battery, TAP Test of Attention Performance, TMT Trail-Making Test, TUG Timed Up-and-Go Test, WOMAC Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index
a Analyzed for each control group;
b Data are mean ± standard-deviation [range] values