Abstract
Most women live with an inactive lifestyle, which suggests a need for preference-based choices to promote their participation in physical activity. This systematic review synthesized key findings on the health benefits of Qigong among women. We conducted a systematic search of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of Qigong among women according to the PRISMA guidelines using the following databases from their inception through March 2021: PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and US National Library of Medicine. The risk of bias was examined using the Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing the risk of bias in randomized trials. Altogether, 18 RCTs were included for final review. Results showed that Qigong was a feasible exercise in improving health outcomes, particularly depressive symptoms (63% of trials), quality of life (43%), and fatigue (29%), among general women, intimate partner violence survivors, and women with chronic conditions (e.g., breast cancer patients or survivors). Almost 90% (7/8) of trials reported high adherence rates ranging from 73 to 95% for supervised group training and 63 to 80% for home self-practice. Thus far, there was no evidence of serious adverse effects from performing Qigong. For the risk of bias across trials, a lack of allocation concealment (72% of trials), no blinding of participants and personnel (67%), and incomplete outcome data (67%) were the major sources. In summary, Qigong is a safe, feasible, and beneficial exercise for general women, abused sufferers, and health-compromised women. However, given the potential risk of bias found in many studies, improved rigor of study design in future trials will be imperatively required.
Highlights
Despite living longer, women generally have poorer health and lower quality of life than men [1]. is is largely due to complexity of biological and gender-related factors such as violence, early marriage, and inequitable access to healthcare [1]
Our findings showed that Qigong was especially effective in improving QOL and fatigue in breast cancer patients after treatment [48, 50, 52, 55] but not in women having metastatic cancer [30] or undergoing active radiotherapy [47]. e mixed findings were likely due to persistent psychological distress pertinent to the pretreated disease states, short duration of Qigong program (i.e., 5 weeks [47]), or meditation control group used in the study [30]
As opposed to resistance and aerobic exercise in breast cancer patients whose adherence to supervised training was around 70% and nearly 50% of them attended 80% of the sessions [79, 80], the present review reported a relatively higher adherence rate to supervised Qigong programs in breast cancer patients (i.e., 52–95%) [30, 50, 52, 53], of whom more than 65% attended at least 80% of the sessions [47]. is suggests that the tolerance level of supervised Qigong programs by women practitioners was comparable or even superior to aerobic and resistance exercise training, especially in breast cancer patients. us, we proposed that Qigong is a feasible, preference-based exercise option for women practitioners
Summary
Women generally have poorer health and lower quality of life than men [1]. is is largely due to complexity of biological and gender-related factors such as violence, early marriage, and inequitable access to healthcare [1]. Women generally have poorer health and lower quality of life than men [1]. A 2018 World Health Organization (WHO) report has shown that the global inactivity prevalence in women (27%) was higher than that in men (20%) [3, 4]. To meet the 2025 global target for inactivity (i.e., 10% reduction) for a healthier world [4], engaging more women in habitual physical activity (PA) to reduce inactivity levels [3] has become a priority in public health. Women are less likely to achieve the WHO-recommended PA levels for health than men throughout the life course [8,9,10,11]. From young childhood through late adolescence, a latent class analysis identified three trajectory classes of organized sport participation that were found in boys and girls; “consistent sport participators” for boys (55%) and girls (48%) exhibited the best health profile regarding lean body mass, percent body fat, and perceived physical health [12]
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