Trial reportArthritis research & therapy2015
The beneficial effects of Tai Chi exercise on endothelial function and arterial stiffness in elderly women with rheumatoid arthritis.
Trial report in Arthritis research & therapy, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects and exercise-prescription moderators of Tai Chi on cardiometabolic risk factors in middle-aged and older women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Comparative effectiveness of statins and exercise in high-risk individuals: systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of Tai Chi-Based Psychosomatic Rehabilitation Exercise on Physiological Function and Mental Health of Patients with Coronary Heart Disease: A Meta-Analysis.Reviews in cardiovascular medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Meta-Analysis of the Effect of Different Exercise Mode on Carotid Atherosclerosis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- The effects of Tai Chi on physical function and safety in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2023Pooled it
- Tai Chi for rheumatoid arthritis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Effects of face-to-face and remote Tai Chi in stable axial spondyloarthritis: a pilot randomised controlled trial.Rheumatology international · 2025Trial
- Twenty-Four week Taichi training improves pulmonary diffusion capacity and glycemic control in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus.PloS one · 2024Trial
- The Effects of Tai Chi on Markers of Atherosclerosis, Lower-limb Physical Function, and Cognitive Ability in Adults Aged Over 60: A Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Trial
- Article
- Comparative effectiveness of exercise interventions on arterial stiffness in individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Article
- Evidence for Exercise Therapy in Elderly Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.Juntendo medical journal · 2025Article
- Assessment of complementary and alternative medicine methods in the management of ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and fibromyalgia syndrome.Rheumatology international · 2023Review
- Safety and effects of a home-based Tai Chi exercise rehabilitation program in patients with chronic heart failure: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2023Article
- Brain Functional Connectivity in Middle-Aged Hong Chuan Tai Chi Players in Resting State.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Review
- Mindfulness and psychological health in practitioners of Japanese martial arts: a cross-sectional study.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2020Article
- Sex differences in mechanisms of arterial stiffness.British journal of pharmacology · 2019Review
- The Efficacy of Tai Chi and Yoga in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Spondyloarthropathies: A narrative biomedical review.Rheumatology international · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been known to be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Tai Chi exercise on CVD risk in elderly women with RA.
methodIn total, 56 female patients with RA were assigned to either a Tai Chi exercise group (29 patients) receiving a 3-month exercise intervention once a week or a control group (27 patients) receiving general information about the benefits of exercise. All participants were assessed at baseline and at 3 months for RA disease activity (Disease Activity Score 28 and Routine Assessment of Patient Index Data 3), functional disability (Health Assessment Questionnaire), CVD risk factors (blood pressure, lipids profile, body composition, and smoking), and three atherosclerotic measurements: carotid intima-media thickness, flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV).
resultsFMD, representative of endothelial function, significantly increased in the Tai Chi exercise group (initial 5.85 ± 2.05 versus 3 months 7.75 ± 2.53%) compared with the control group (initial 6.31 ± 2.12 versus 3 months 5.78 ± 2.13%) (P = 1.76 × 10(-3)). Moreover, baPWV, representative of arterial stiffness, significantly decreased in the Tai Chi exercise group (initial 1693.7 ± 348.3 versus 3 months 1600.1 ± 291.0 cm/s) compared with the control group (initial 1740.3 ± 185.3 versus 3 months 1792.8 ± 326.1 cm/s) (P = 1.57 × 10(-2)). In addition, total cholesterol decreased significantly in the Tai Chi exercise group compared with the control group (-7.8 ± 15.5 versus 2.9 ± 12.2 mg/dl, P = 2.72 × 10(-2)); other changes in RA-related characteristics were not significantly different between the two groups. Tai Chi exercise remained significantly associated with improved endothelial function (FMD; P = 4.32 × 10(-3)) and arterial stiffness (baPWV; P = 2.22 × 10(-2)) after adjustment for improvement in total cholesterol level.
conclusionTai Chi exercise improved endothelial dysfunction and arterial stiffness in elderly women with RA, suggesting that it can be a useful behavioral strategy for CVD prevention in patients with RA.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.