Effects of Tai Chi in diabetes patients: Insights from recent research

Table 2 Systematic reviews and meta-analyses reporting the effects of Tai Chi on glycemic control, metabolic parameters, physical function, and the quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes

Ref.	Subjects	Interventions (Tai Chi style)	Comparators	Outcomes	Results
Zhou et al[10], 2019	1235 patients with T2D. Age: 35.6–69.5 years, sex: No description, BMI: No description, HbA1c: 6.9%–11.9%	Time: 15–120 min/session, Number of sessions: 2–14 sessions/wk, Duration of the intervention: 4–24 wk, (Simplified style, Chen style, Yang style, Sun and Yang style, Lin style, Da-yuan-jiang-tang style)	Usual care, usual exercise, or sham exercise	BMI, fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, insulin, HOMA-IR, TC, blood pressure, QoL (SF-36), balance (single-leg stance test)	BMI↓1, fasting blood glucose↓, HbA1c↓, HOMA-IR↓, insulin→3, TC↓, Systolic blood pressure↓, diastolic blood pressure↓, QOL↑2
Xia et al[11], 2019	774 patients with T2D. Age: No description, sex: No description, BMI: No description, HbA1c: No description	Time: 30–60 min/session, Number of sessions: 2–14 sessions/wk, Duration of the intervention: 8–24 wk, (Simplified style, Chen style, Yang style, Sun and Yang style, Lin style, Da-yuan-jiang-tang style, Tai Chi Ball, Unknown style)	Usual care, wait list, dancing, walking or running, conventional exercise, sham exercise, no intervention	BMI, fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, TC, TG, HDL-C, LDL-C	BMI↓, fasting blood glucose↓, HbA1c↓, TC↓, TG↓, HDL-C→, LDL-C→
Palermi et al[12], 2020	144 patients with T2D. Age: 62.73–66.05 years (mean), sex: No description, BMI: No description, HbA1c: No description	Time: 55–120 min/session Number of sessions: 2–3 sessions/wk, Duration of the intervention: 12–16 wk, (Yang and Sun style)	Usual care, sham exercise, no intervention	Balance function measured by single-leg stance test, tandem walk test, Balance Index, and Berg Balance Scale	Balance function↑
Qin et al[13], 2020	1418 patients with T2D. Age: 47–70 years, sex: No description, BMI: No description, HbA1c: No description	Time: 30–120 min/session, Number of sessions: 1–7 sessions/wk, Duration of the intervention: 12–24 wk	Usual care, wait-list, walking, brisk walking, aerobic exercise, dancing, Baduanjin, sham exercise, no intervention	BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, QOL measured by SF-36 or DSQOL	BMI↓, QOL↑
Guo et al[14], 2021	1549 patients with T2D, Age: 46.1–70.4 years (mean), sex: No description, BMI: No description, HbA1c: No description	Time: No description, Number of sessions: No description, Duration of the intervention: No description (Simplified style, Yang and Sun style, Yang style, Chen style)	Usual care, walking, brisk walking, dancing, aerobic exercise, sham exercise	BMI, fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, insulin, HOMA-IR, TC, TG, HDL-C, LDL-C, blood pressure	BMI↓, fasting blood glucose↓ (→ vs aerobic exercise), HbA1c↓, insulin↓, HOMA-IR↓, TC↓ (→ vs aerobic exercise), TG↓ (→ vs aerobic exercise), HDL-C↓, LDL-C↓ (→ vs aerobic exercise), blood pressure↓

¹Decreased.

²Increased/improved.

³Unchanged.

BMI: Body mass index; HbA1c: Hemoglobin A1c; TC: Total cholesterol; TG: Triglycerides; HDL-C: High-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-C: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; QOL: Quality of life; SF-36: Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36; DSQOL: Diabetes-specific quality of life; T2D: Type 2 diabetes; HOMA-IR: Homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance.