Relationship between Qigong Baduanjin and depression in Chinese elderly

Abstract

Background. In the context of the aging of the world's population, the process of China's population aging is accelerating. It will be a great challenge to China before becoming rich, and the physical and mental health of the elderly in China has become a focus of much attention. Depression seriously affects the physical and mental health and quality of life of the elderly, and the World Health Organization predicts that depression will be the second killer of endangering the health and life of older people. Research has shown that Chinese qigong gymnastics can have a positive effect on people's physical and mental health. Qigong Baduanjin has the function of strengthening the body and regulating the mood, and may become an important intervention method to effectively prevent the occurrence and development of depression. The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between Qigong Baduanjin exercise and depression in the elderly. Methods. This study evaluated the depression of 530 elderly Qigong Baduanjin enthusiasts over 60 years old using the Geriatric Depression Scale. The relationship between exercise time and the incidence of depression was analyzed through mathematical statistics. Results. After analyzing the data, we found it is concluded that the shortest practice time of Qigong Baduanjin is 7 hours / month and the longest is 112 hours / month. The overall incidence of depression is 23.9%. After adjusting the interference factors, it was found that the exercise time of Qigong Baduanjin was still significantly negatively correlated with the incidence of depression. Conclusion. The long-term regular practice of Qigong Baduanjin in the elderly can play a positive role in effectively reducing the occurrence and development of depression.