Health-related quality of life in the elderly practicing T'ai Chi Chuan.
OBJECTIVE
Previous studies have shown health benefits of T'ai Chi Chuan (TCC). In Taiwan, TCC is a form of exercise that is widely practiced by the elderly. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the effects of TCC on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in the senior population.


METHODS
Subjects who regularly practiced TCC in Taiwan were selected by random sampling and included 140 seniors (77 males and 63 females, aged 40-70 years). The questionnaire was separated into 2 parts: demographic information and the SF-36 questionnaire, which used 8 domains to evaluate the subjects' HRQOL. The results were compared with those of 560 age- and sex-matched control subjects that were taken from the general population (308 males and 252 females). Multiple regression analysis was used to compare the quality of life in each of the 8 domains between the 2 groups.


RESULTS
The TCC group showed significantly higher quality-of-life scores than the control group in each of the 8 domains with the exception of the bodily pain scales. Using multiple linear regression adjusted for covariates, the TCC group had significantly higher scores in physical functioning, physical roles, general health, vitality, and social-functioning scales than the control group. In most of the domains in both the TCC group and the control group, quality of life became worse with increased age, whereas the scores in vitality and social-functioning domains of the TCC group showed a reverse trend; they remained unchanged or even improved with increased age.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study supports the hypothesis that TCC improves quality of life among the elderly in Taiwan, but further study must be conducted to more conclusively show the link between TCC and health-related QOL.
Ho
Tsung-Jung
TJ
Chinese Medical Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
Liang
Wen-Miin
WM
Lien
Chih-Hui
CH
Ma
Tso-Chiang
TC
Kuo
Hsien-Wen
HW
Chu
Bow-Ching
BC
Chang
Hsin-Wen
HW
Lai
Jim-Shoung
JS
Lin
Jaung-Geng
JG
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D026302:Tai Ji; D013624:Taiwan