Effects of Tai Chi Exercise on Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Quality of Life in Post-menopausal Women

Rhayun Song; Sukhee Ahn; Hee Young So; In Sook Park; Hyun Li Kim; Kyung Ok Joo; Jong Sung Kim

doi:10.4040/jkan.2009.39.1.136

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Song, Ahn, So, Park, Kim, Joo, and Kim: Effects of Tai Chi Exercise on Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Quality of Life in Post-menopausal Women

Original Article

J Korean Acad Nurs 2009;39(1):136-144.

Published online: 17 February 2009

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4040/jkan.2009.39.1.136

Effects of Tai Chi Exercise on Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Quality of Life in Post-menopausal Women

Rhayun Song¹, Sukhee Ahn¹, Hee Young So¹, In Sook Park¹, Hyun Li Kim¹, Kyung Ok Joo², Jong Sung Kim³

Professor

¹Professor, Department of Nursing, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Korea

²Researcher, Research Institute of Nursing Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Korea

³Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Korea

Address reprint requests to : Ahn, Sukhee, Department of Nursing, College of Nursing, Chungnam National University, 6 Munhwa 1-dong, Jung-gu, Daejeon 301-747, Korea, Tel: 82-42-580-8324 Fax: 82-42-584-8915 E-mail: sukheeahn@cnu.ac.kr

Received 6 November 2008 Revised 6 November 2008 Accepted 23 January 2009

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose:

Natural menopause resulting in the decline in endogenous estrogen concentrations is responsible for an increased risk of coronary heart disease in postmenopausal women. The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of a 6-month Tai Chi exercise program on cardiovascular risk factors and quality of life in post-menopausal women.

Methods:

A quasi-experimental design with pretest and posttest measures was used. The participants in the study, 29 women in the Tai Chi group and 31 in the control group, were enrolled for 6 months.

Results:

After 6 months of Tai Chi exercise, total cholesterol (M=213 to 185), LDL-cholesterol (M=135 to 128), and their 10 yr cardiovascular disease risk (M=2.62 to 2.27) had improved significantly for the Tai Chi participants compared to the control group. Total scores for quality of life along with the sub-dimensions of health perception and mental functioning were also significantly higher in the Tai Chi participants.

Conclusion:

Tai Chi exercise favorably affected cardiovascular health and quality of life in post-menopausal women after 6 months. Additional rigorous studies are needed to examine long term effects on the prevention of cardiovascular disease in this population.

Keywords: Postmenopausal period, Women, Tai Chi, Cardiovascular disease, Quality of life

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Table 1.

General Characteristics of Participants

Characteristics		Tai Chi (n=29)	Control (n=31)	t or 2	p
Characteristics		Mean (SD) or n (%)	Mean (SD) or n (%)	t or 2	p
Age (yr)		58.59 (4.62)	61.00 (5.60)	−1.81	.075
Education (yr)		8.86 (4.36)	8.94 (3.68)	−0.71	.944
Income (1,000 won/month)		153.0 (102.3)	169.3 (136.3)	−0.52	.603
Number of pregnancies		4.72 (2.20)	4.27 (2.18)	0.80	.426
Number of deliveries		2.69 (0.71)	2.60 (1.43)	0.30	.763
Marital status/living status	Married/ with family	28 (96.6)	22 (71.0)	7.66	.022
	Widowed/ with family	1 (3.4)	3 (9.7)
	Single/ living alone	0 (0)	6 (19.4)
Employment	Not employed	26 (89.7)	27 (87.1)	0.09	.758
	Employed	3 (10.3)	4 (12.9)
Exercise habit	3-4 times/week	20 (69.0)	20 (64.5)	1.73	.629
	1-2 times/week	5 (17.2)	6 (19.4)
	Never	4 (13.8)	5 (16.1)
Smoking habit	None	27 (93.1)	30 (96.8)	0.42	.514
	Indirect exposure	2 (6.9)	1 (3.2)
Family history of cardiovascular	No	15 (51.7)	16 (51.6)	0.00	.993
disease	Yes	14 (48.3)	15 (48.4)
Chronic disease	None	10 (34.5)	10 (32.3)	1.43	.697
	Hypertension	7 (24.1)	5 (16.1)
	Diabetes	1 (3.4)	3 (9.7)
	Others	11 (37.9)	13 (41.9)
Perceived stress	Low	15 (51.7)	21 (67.7)	1.68	.431
	Moderate	9 (31.0)	7 (22.6)
	High	5 (17.2)	3 (9.7)
Perceived health compared with similar age group Similar	Worse	9 (31.0)	9 (29.0)	0.60	.741
		18 (62.1)	18 (58.1)
	Better	2 (6.9)	4 (12.9)

Table 2.

Homogeneity Test of Study Variables at the Baseline

Variables	Tai Chi (n=29)	Control (n=31)	t	p
Variables	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)	t	p
10-yr CVD risk (%)*	9.55 (4.71)	10.06 (5.13)	−0.40	.689
Cardiovascular risk factors
Systolic BP (mmHg) 1	126.79 (14.59)	126.35 (18.64)	0.10	.920
Body mass index (kg/m²)	24.69 (2.91)	25.0 9 (2.37)	−0.59	.555
Total cholesterol (mg/dL)	213.6 (37.27)	217.0 (48.90)	−0.29	.770
Triglyceride (mg/dL)	114.5 (43.24)	132.7 (53.43)	−1.44	.154
HDL cholesterol (mg/dL)	46.55 (9.18)	46.00 (8.92)	0.23	.814
LDL cholesterol (mg/dL)	135.0 (29.03)	137.4 (42.54)	−0.25	.797
Glucose (mg/dL)	92.83 (12.97)	95.52 (11.31)	−0.85	.395
Quality of life	27.38 (10.72)	29.68 (13.31)	−0.73	.467
Pain	35.00 (27.06)	32.10 (25.62)	0.42	.671
PF-daily activities	10.34 (11.49)	9.07 (10.56)	0.44	.657
PF-housework	15.34 (14.01)	20.00 (20.70)	−1.01	.315
Mobility	18.86 (11.88)	19.15 (13.52)	−0.09	.929
Leisure/social activities	21.35 (16.09)	31.92 (21.31)	−2.15	.035
Health perception	53.16 (19.97)	51.61 (25.77)	0.25	.797
Mental functioning	41.19 (15.49)	43.37 (16.72)	−0.52	.603

*Scores are calculated based on Framingham heart study for 10-yr risk in percent (%).

BP=blood pressure; HDL=high density lipoprotein; LDL=low density lipoprotein; CVD=cardiovascular disease; PF=physical functioning.

Table 3.

Group Comparisons on Cardiovascular Risk Factors at the Posttest

Variables	Tai Chi (n=29)	Control (n=31)	F*	p
Variables	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)	F*	p
10-yr CVD risk (%)	9.1 (4.38)	12.56 (7.04)	8.86	.004
Cardiovascular risk factors
Systolic BP (mmHg)	126.7 (16.56)	128.6 (20.35)	0.34	.560
Body mass index (kg/m²)	24.81 (2.94)	25.45 (2.45)	2.78	.101
Total cholesterol (mg/dL)	185.5 (31.36)	204.5 (42.57)	6.49	.014
Triglyceride (mg/dL)	113.1 (41.80)	148.8 (64.25)	4.10	.047
HDL cholesterol (mg/dL)	42.93 (7.39)	42.94 (12.36)	0.05	.821
LDL cholesterol (mg/dL)	128.7 (31.82)	144.5 (41.54)	4.88	.031
Glucose (mg/dL)	86.76 (12.11)	88.42 (15.41)	0.03	.857

*F score is from Analysis of Covariance with pretest scores as covariates. BP=blood pressure; HDL=high density lipoprotein; LDL=low density lipoprotein; CVD=cardiovascular disease.

Table 4.

Group Comparisons on Quality of Life and Sub-dimensions at the Posttest

Variables	Tai Chi (n=29)	Control (n=31)	F*	p
Variables	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)	F*	p
Quality of life	24.98 (10.14)	28.78 (9.73)	5.97	.018
Pain	26.37 (20.34)	30.64 (24.72)	3.25	.076
PF-daily activities	11.21 (9.93)	10.48 (15.08)	0.32	.573
PF-housework	13.79 (14.91)	20.00 (21.90)	1.34	.251
Mobility	16.70 (13.15)	18.04 (13.87)	0.19	.664
Leisure/social activities	24.89 (15.41)	29.64 (17.68)	0.27	.605
Health perception	46.55 (21.18)	54.83 (24.03)	5.53	.022
Mental functioning	35.63 (14.66)	42.83 (12.74)	5.28	.025

* F score is from Analysis of Covariance with pretest scores as covariates.

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