title: A randomized controlled trial of qigong on fatigue and sleep quality for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients undergoing chemotherapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Chan-Chuang qigong exercise in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients who were undergoing chemotherapy on fatigue intensity and sleep quality.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was a single-centre, controlled randomized study. One hundred and eight subjects were randomly assigned to the qigong group (n = 54) or control group (n = 54). The qigong group received Chan-Chuang qigong exercise 20-min twice daily for 21 days in the course of the chemotherapy treatment, whereas the control group without special exercise intervention. Outcome measures included fatigue and sleep quality.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After the three-week intervention, participants who were in the qigong group had lower fatigue intensity scores than those in the control group. The results of generalized estimating equations (GEE) analyses showed a significant group-by-time interaction effect in average fatigue, worse fatigue, and overall sleep quality (p < 0.001). The average fatigue, worse fatigue, and overall sleep quality significantly decreased over time in the qigong group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Chan-Chuang qigong exercise could be regarded as an adjunct measure in clinical practice. This study cannot completely discount the possible influence of placebo effects, and more objective clinical outcome measures are needed to produce our findings with long-term follow-up in a randomized controlled study.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Integration of Traditional Chinese Medicine with Western Nursing, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, No.365, Ming Te Road, PeiTou, 11219, Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: meiling@ntunhs.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Mei-Ling
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Yuanpei University and Medical Technology, No. 306, Yuanpei Street, 30015, Hsinchu City, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: yuchu@mail.ypu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Yu-Chu
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064906:Qigong; D011788:Quality of Life; D012890:Sleep; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Exercise; Fatigue; Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma; Qigong; Sleep quality