Abstract
This current meta-analysis review was conducted to examine the effectiveness of Qigong-based therapy on individuals with major depressive disorder. Six electronic databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wangfang) were employed to retrieve potential articles that were randomized controlled trials. The synthesized effect sizes (Hedges’ g) were computerized to explore the effectiveness of Qigong-based therapy. Additionally, a moderator analysis was performed based on the control type. The pooled results indicated that Qigong-based therapy has a significant benefit on depression severity (Hedges’ g = −0.64, 95% CI −0.92 to −0.35, p < 0. 001, I2 = 41.73%). Specifically, Qigong led to significantly reduced depression as compared to the active control groups (Hedges’ g = −0.47, 95% CI −0.81 to −0.12, p = 0.01, I2 = 22.75%) and the passive control groups (Hedges’ g = −0.80, 95% CI −1.23 to −0.37, p < 0.01, I2 = 48.07%), respectively. For studies which reported categorical outcomes, Qigong intervention showed significantly improved treatment response rates (OR = 4.38, 95% CI 1.26 to 15.23, p = 0.02) and remission rates (OR = 8.52, 95% CI 1.91 to 37.98, p = 0.005) in comparison to the waitlist control group. Conclusions: Qigong-based exercises may be effective for alleviating depression symptoms in individuals with major depressive disorder. Future well-designed, randomized, controlled trials with large sample sizes are needed to confirm these findings.
Highlights
Clinical depression, referred to as major depressive disorder (MDD), is a common debilitating mental disorder and is a leading cause of disability [1]
An odds ratio was computed across these two studies and the results showed that the Qigong intervention showed significant improvement in treatment response rate (OR = 4.38, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.26 to 15.23, p = 0.02) and remission rate (OR = 8.52, 95% CI 1.91 to 37.98, p = 0.005) compared with the waitlist control group
Results from this metameta-analysis indicated that Qigong-based intervention may be significantly beneficial to improve analysis indicated that Qigong-based intervention may be significantly beneficial to improve the the response and remission rate for MDD compared with the control group (p < 0.05)
Summary
Referred to as major depressive disorder (MDD), is a common debilitating mental disorder and is a leading cause of disability [1]. Patients with MDD often receive various forms of treatment (i.e., psychotherapy, pharmaceutics (antidepressants), or a combination of these two first-line therapies) [3]. These treatments have been shown to have therapeutic effects for those with MDD [4,5], they are subject to several limitations, such as high dropout rates (e.g., 12–40% during an 8-week psychotherapy), low remission rates, and numerous medication-related side effects (e.g., nausea, diarrhea, excessive sedation, and sleep problems) [6,7,8]. Self-healing, mind–body therapy that originated from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), dating back to nearly four thousand years ago [10,11,12].
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