title: Effects of non-sporting and sporting qigong on frailty and quality of life among breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the effects of non-sporting qigong (NSQG) and sporting qigong (SQG) on frailty and quality of life (QOL) of breast cancer patients during chemotherapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  A time series (three-group, pre-test-post-test) quasi-experimental design was applied in the study. Ninety-five participants were assigned to three groups: controls (n = 31), NSQG (n = 33), or SQG (n = 31). All patients performed the qigong interventions three times per week for at least 30 min per session. Data were collected in face-to-face interviews before chemotherapy and at 1 and 3 months after chemotherapy. Frailty was assessed using the Edmonton Frail Scale. The Medical Outcomes Survey Short-Form 36-Taiwanese version was used to evaluate the physical and mental component scores of QOL.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the 1st and 3rd months after practicing qigong, patients in the SQG group had lower frailty scores than those in the control group. In the 3rd month after the intervention, patients in the NSQG group also had lower frailty scores and higher mental component scores for QOL than those in the control group. Patients with higher frailty scores had worse physical and mental component scores for QOL than those with lower frailty scores. The Sobel test showed that the frailty score mediated SQG and physical component scores for QOL.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SQG and NSQG appeared to be beneficial for improving frailty and QOL among the breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy in the study. The results are preliminary and larger, well-constructed clinical studies are needed to verify the findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Mackay Medical College, New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: r910862@yahoo.com.tw.
authors.forename: Sheng-Miauh
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: lmtseng@vghtpe.gov.tw.
authors.forename: Ling-Ming
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Tseng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Community Health Care, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: lychien@ym.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Li-Yin
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Chien
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: chenjtai@tmu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Chen-Jei
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Tai
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: hodazen@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ping-Ho
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Mackay Medical College, New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: hungchia@mmc.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Chia Tai
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Mackay Medical College, New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: yvonnebear@mmc.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hsiung
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D064906:Qigong; D011788:Quality of Life; D013624:Taiwan
keywords: Breast cancer; Frailty; Qigong; Quality of life; Tai chi