Table 1.

Attendance Rates and Instructions for Home-Based Practice of Selected T'ai chi Interventions

Author/reference	Patient population	Number of classes/regimen	Attendance rates (from publication unless otherwise specified)	Instructions regarding outside TCC practice	Outcome/results
Mustian et al., 20048,a	21 breast cancer survivors	3 (60 minutes) × weeks for 12 weeks	Among the TCC participants, 11 completed all study requirements, with a 72% exercise attendance/compliance rate, while 10 psychosocial support group participants completed all study requirements, with a 67% attendance rate	Told not to change their physical activity at all during the course of the trial. According to self-report data, 80% (n = 8) of the women completing the support group intervention adhered to this requirement and 100% (n = 11) of the TCC group adhered to not changing physical activity	TCC group exhibited improvement in Health Related Quality of Life and self-esteem from baseline to 6 and 12 weeks, while the support group exhibited declines
Mustian et al., 200610,a	21 breast cancer survivors	3 (60 minutes) × weeks for weeks	Same as above	Same as above	The TCC group demonstrated significant improvement in aerobic capacity, muscular strength, and flexibility at 12 weeks compared to physical activity control
Irwin et al. 200330	36 healthy adults with history of chickenpox	45 minutes, 3× per week for 15 weeks	Of the total possible sessions (N = 45), median compliance was 39	Investigators confirmed via e-mail that there was no alteration in outside physical activity by participant self-reports	Varicella zoster-specific cell-mediated immunity increased 50% in TCC group; significant increase in SF-36 scores were higher with TCC
Irwin et al. 20075	112 healthy older adults	40 minutes, 3× per week for 16 weeks	91% of participants completed the intervention. TCC participants attended a mean ± standard deviation of 83% ± 20%, and health education subjects attended 80% ± 20% of all sessions	Specific instructions not listed; from publication, “TCC participants showed a significant increase in the number of minutes of at-home practice per week”	TCC group demonstrated varicella zoster virus immunity comparable to that of the traditional varicella vaccine; together the vaccine and the TCC intervention had an additive effect compared to a health education group
Song et al. 200311	72 osteoarthritis patients	12 weeks; 1st 2 weeks: 3 classes per week; then only once a week with home practice encouraged	41% overall dropout rate	After 2 weeks the exercise group came to the supervised session once a week; TCC 20 minutes daily at least 3 times a week at home for the following 10 weeks. Phone contact to encourage regular performance, and daily log to record the frequency of exercise.	TCC group experienced less stiffness, and reported fewer difficulties in physical functioning
				The control subjects were also contacted each week by telephone to confirm they were not taking part in any other exercise activities. Home practice not reported
Yeh et al. 200414	30 patients with chronic stable heart failure	2 (1 hour) × week for 12 weeks	Not reported	From publication: “Participants were encouraged to practice at home at least three times per week….More than three quarters (77%) of patients reported some regular physical activity at home, such as walking. The duration of exercise ranged from 5 to 65 minutes, and the frequency ranged from once a week to daily”	At 12 weeks, TCC group showed improvement in QoL scores, increased 5-minute walk test, and decreased serum B-type natriuretic peptide levels compared to control group
Wolf et al. 199613	200 elderly (70 and older) patients	15 weeks—not clear	Not reported in detail—makeup classes resulted in a very high attendance rate	From publication: “Subjects were encouraged to practice at least 15 min twice a day, but home practice was not monitored”	Lowered BP in TCC group; fear of falling responses and intrusiveness responses were reduced after the TCC intervention compared with the ED group; after adjusting for fall risk factors, TCC was found to reduce the risk of multiple falls by 47.5%
Wolf et al. 200315	311 elderly (70–97) patients	The TCC group met 2 sessions/week at increasing durations starting at 60-minute contact time and progressing to 90 minutes over the course of 48 weeks	From publication: “The average standard deviation attendance in the [TCC] group was 76 ± 19% (range: 6–100%), whereas the average attendance for a statistical group was 81 ± 17% (range: 10–100%)”; when attendance was evaluated in a statistical model adjusted for center, a statistically significant effect of attendance (p = 0.006) was found	From inquiry: outside practice was encouraged; rates not recorded	Risk ratio of falling not statistically significant in TCC group
Li 20047,a	256 physically inactive older adults	3 (∼60 minutes) × week for 6 months	Median compliance was 61 sessions for both groups, ranging from 30 to 77 sessions for TCC participants and from 35 to 78 sessions for the controls (Noted in publication: No statistical differences in the above baseline variables were found between those who attended intervention classes and those who did not attend.)	From author inquiry: “Participants in both conditions were encouraged to practice movements learned in class. However, we did not monitor the amount or time of out-of-class practice during the trial just as we did in the other study”	TCC group showed improvements in measures of functional balance at the intervention endpoint significantly reduced their risk of falls during the 6-month postintervention period, compared to control group
Li et al. 200416,a	118 patients ages 60–92	60-minute session, 3× per week, for 6 months	Same as above	Same as above	TCC group demonstrated sig. improvements in sleep quality, latency, duration, efficiency, sleep disturbances
Li et al. 20059,a	256 community-dwelling elderly patients	1-hour classes, 3× week for weeks	Median compliance was 61 sessions for both groups, ranging from 30 to 77 sessions for TCC participants and from 35 to 78 sessions for the controls	Same as above	Risks for falls was 55% lower in the TCC group than the stretching control
Wang et al. 200531	20 RA patients	TCC 2× per week for 1-hour sessions for 12 weeks	Not reported due to limited space for publication.	Not reported due to limited space for publication	TCC group improved in physical functioning
McGibbon et al. 200418	26 patients with vestibulopathy	Each group met once weekly for 10 weeks for ∼70 minutes	From correspondence: 88% attendance to TCC intervention; 65% attendance rate for vestibulopathy control	From inquiry: outside practice was encouraged, and rates were recorded; follow-up analysis requested from author	Improvements on whole-body and footfall stability, not gaze stability for TCC compared to the VR group
McGibbon et al. 200517	36 older adults with vestibulopathy	Same as above	Same as above	Same as above	Gait-time improvements were seen in both groups, Between-group analysis suggests TCC group improvements are due to reorganized lower-extremity neuromuscular patterns (faster gait and reduced excessive hip compensation)
Thomas et al. 200519	207 elderly participants	1 hour; 3× week for 12 months	81% attendance to the TCC intervention; only 76% to the resistance training	From inquiry: “The participants were encouraged to practice at home, but we did not document participation at home”	No difference between TCC group, control, and resistance exercise group and control in primary outcomes; only result: improvements in insulin sensitivity: in resistance vs. control
Channer et al. 199632	126 patients recovering from MIs	1 hour; 2× week for 3 weeks, then weekly for 5 weeks	8% completed the 8-week nonexercise; TCC: 82% completed TCC; 73% completed aerobic exercise group	Instructions to home-based practice not reported and the authors were unable to be contacted	TCC group demonstrated decreases in diastolic BP and heart rate; decreases in systolic BP were seen in both TCC and AE groups
Galantino et al. 200533	38 HIV patients	1 hour; 2× per week for 8 weeks	When the authors were contacted, they reported an 80% adherence rate in the TCC arm	From our inquiry: “participants completed exercise logs; however, [these] data were not reported in publication”	Improved physical functioning and improved quality of life in both TCC and exercise groups
Chan et al. 200412	132 postmenopausal women	45 minutes, 5× week for 12 months	Average attendance rate for the TCC exercise group was 4.2 ± 0.9 days per week. The dropout rate was 19.4% in the TCC group (13/67 subjects) and 16.9% in the control group (11/65 subjects)	Home-based practice was not addressed in the publication and the authors were not reachable	Bone-marrow density loss shown to be slower in TCC group (both groups still showed bone loss over the year)
Tsai et al. 200334	76 subjects with normal or stage I hypertension	3× per wk for 50 minutes for 12 weeks	Not reported	No mention of outside practice or instructions for outside practice is made (outside of instructing them to not change their dietary intake)	TCC group: showed significant decreases in systolic blood pressure; total serum cholesterol decreased; HDL increased; both stait and trait anxiety decreased

Studies highlighted in gray instructed participants to not change their physical activity outside of the intervention; all others either encouraged TCC practice outside of the scheduled class setting or instructions were unreported. Direct quotes from publications are delineated by quotations, and information gathered from correspondence (T.S. via e-mail) is marked accordingly.

^aThese publications were noted (through author correspondence) to be reported across 2 separate publications, both listed in Table 1.

TCC, t'ai chi chuan; SF-36, Short Form–36 Health Survey; QoL, quality of life; BP, blood pressure; ED, education; WE, wellness education; VR, vestibular rehabilitation; AE, aerobic exercise; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; HDL, high-density lipoprotein.