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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Aging Neurosci.
Sec. Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias
Volume 16 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2024.1475406
This article is part of the Research Topic Lifestyle and Environmental Influences on Alzheimer's Disease: Exploring the Roles of Diet, Exercise, Cognitive Reserve, Sleep, and Air Quality View all 12 articles

Effects of Traditional Chinese Exercises or Their Integration with Medical Treatments on Cognitive Impairment: A Network Meta-Analysis Based on Randomized Controlled Trials

Provisionally accepted
JIADONG QIU JIADONG QIU 1Sungmin Kim Sungmin Kim 2,3,4*
  • 1 Department of Sports Science, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
  • 2 BK21 FOUR Human-Tech Convergence Program, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
  • 3 Department of Sports Science and Active Aging Industry, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
  • 4 Center for Artificial Intelligence Muscle, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: To summarize and critically evaluate the research on the effects of traditional Chinese exercises and their integration with medical treatments on cognitive impairment. This study assessed the comparative impact of various types of traditional Chinese exercises, both in isolation and in combination with medical treatments. Methods: A systematic search was performed across multiple academic databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang, and VIP, to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related to cognitive impairment on traditional Chinese exercises and their integration with other treatments. Study quality was assessed using the Cochrane Handbook's Risk of Bias tool. In total, 24 RCTs with 1,808 participants were analyzed. The primary outcome measures were the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Subgroup analyses were conducted to compare the effects of interventions. Results: The network meta-analysis showed that for MOCA, the combination of Acupuncture and Tai Chi (Aandtaiji) had the most significant effect, followed by Qigong. In terms of MMSE, Tai Chi soft ball exercise (Taijiball) showed the greatest improvement. Conclusions: The combination of traditional Chinese exercises and medical treatments is more effective for improving MOCA scores, while traditional exercises alone yield better results for MMSE scores. Extended practice of Tai Chi and Qigong enhances cognitive outcomes in patients with cognitive impairment.

    Keywords: Tai Chi, Traditional Chinese exercises, Qigong, cognitive impairment, Medical treatments

    Received: 03 Aug 2024; Accepted: 14 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 QIU and Kim. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Sungmin Kim, BK21 FOUR Human-Tech Convergence Program, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.