ReviewEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2020
The Efficacy of Tai Chi and Qigong Exercises on Blood Pressure and Blood Levels of Nitric Oxide and Endothelin-1 in Patients with Essential Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Review in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 44 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
- An RCT META analysis based on the efficacy of Tai Chi exercise therapy on blood pressure and blood lipids in patients with essential hypertension.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Stress reduction through taiji: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2024Pooled it
- Current Evidence on Traditional Chinese Exercises for Quality of Life in Patients With Essential Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2020Pooled it
- Tai Chi rehabilitation program enhances blood pressure control and modulates inflammatory and Brain-Gut peptides in hypertension.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Trial
- Proof of Concept of a 6-Month Person-Oriented Exercise Intervention 'MultiPill-Exercise' among Patients at Risk of or with Multiple Chronic Diseases: Results of a One-Group Pilot Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Effects of standing Baduanjin exercise on cardiac function and quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Review
- Network meta-analysis of traditional Chinese exercises for cardiovascular health in middle-aged and older adults hypertensive patients.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Review
- Modes of action of traditional Chinese medicine for diabetic infertility: from molecular pathways to clinical evidence.American journal of clinical and experimental immunology · 2025Review
- Tai Chi training as a primary care plan for the prevention and management of hypertension: an opinion and positioning article.Annals of medicine · 2024Article
- Effect of exercise based on ACSM recommendations on blood pressure and heart rate in hypertensive patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Immunomodulatory Effects in Healthy Individuals Following a 4-Week Taoist Qigong Intervention: A Comparative Study.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2023Article
- Can Yoga, Qigong, and Tai Chi Breathing Work Support the Psycho-Immune Homeostasis during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Narrative Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Development and validation of a decision tree classification model for the essential hypertension based on serum protein biomarkers.Annals of translational medicine · 2022Article
- Quality of Evidence Supporting the Effects of Tai Chi Exercise on Essential Hypertension: An Overview of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.Cardiology research and practice · 2022Review
- Hypoxic Training Ameliorates Skeletal Muscle Microcirculation Vascular Function in a Sirt3-Dependent Manner.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Article
- Understanding Traditional Chinese Medicine Therapeutics: An Overview of the Basics and Clinical Applications.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Levels of Serum sST2, MMP-3, and Gal-3 in Patients with Essential Hypertension and Their Correlation with Left Ventricular Hypertrophy.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2021Article
- The Effects of Qigong for Hypertension: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTai Chi and Qigong are the two similar traditional Chinese wellness exercises. A strong body of published clinical randomized controlled trials (RCTs) has investigated the health benefits of Tai Chi and Qigong exercises (TCQE) in patients with essential hypertension (EH). This is the first meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of TCQE on blood pressure (BP) and blood levels of nitric oxide (NO) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) in EH patients and explore the potential antihypertensive mechanism of TCQE.
methodsWe conducted a literature retrieval for Chinese and English studies in seven databases from their respective inceptions until January 14, 2020. All RCTs examining clinical efficacy of TCQE for EH patients were considered. The major therapeutic outcomes of TCQE were changes in the blood levels of NO, ET-1, and BP in EH patients. Methodological quality of the included RCTs was detected via The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. We evaluated the data reported and performed the meta-analysis by Review Manager 5.3 software.
results9 RCTs involving 516 EH patients were included. The intervention duration lasted from 1.5 months to 6 months. The results of comprehensive analysis showed that compared with control interventions, experimental interventions were more effective in reducing the systolic blood pressure and the diastolic blood pressure and contributed higher blood levels of NO and lower blood levels of ET-1.
conclusionsTCQE could be an effective complementary and alternative therapy for EH. The lower BP in EH patients who practice TCQE may have some connection with exercise-related increased blood NO levels and decreased blood ET-1 levels. However, further research is needed to make clear the efficacy of TCQE in management of EH and the mechanism of lowering BP in TCQE.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.