SynthesisBMC complementary medicine and therapies2023
Effects of Tai Chi on depression of middle-aged and older adults: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 6 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
16 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of different exercise interventions on cognitive function in adults with major depressive disorder and subthreshold depression: a systematic review with pairwise and network meta-analyses.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Pooled it
- Association Between Physical Activity, Heart Rate Variability and Major Depressive Disorders: An Umbrella Review.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of exercise interventions on depressive symptoms in perimenopausal women in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of traditional Chinese mind-body exercises on depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older adults: a multilevel meta-analysis with exploratory dose-response and machine learning analyses.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- The effectiveness of Tai Chi in improving depressive mood among young individuals aged 15-24 years: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- The effect of Tai Chi on elderly depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Pooled it
- Tai Chi's synergistic modulation on autonomic nervous activity and central autonomic networks in functional constipation patients: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Effects of Baduanjin Exercise on Depression Severity and Heart Rate Variability in Adults with Major Depressive Disorder: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Psychology research and behavior management · 2025Trial
- Evidence map of Tai Chi interventions for older adults.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Tai Chi exercise and neuroplasticity: a narrative review according to neural mechanisms and clinical utilizations in brain health.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Tai chi in mental health interventions: a narrative review comparing its role with pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- The relationship between Tai Chi practice, Psychological Resilience, and depression in older adults: an integrated study of mediation and network analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Older adults' perceptions and needs regarding mental health WeChat applet: a qualitative study.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- The effect of the Tai Chi intervention on self-esteem and self-confidence perception in adult populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC nursing · 2025Article
- Joint Trajectories of Physical Activity and Depressive Symptoms in Postmenopausal Women in China: A Group-Based Dual Trajectory Analysis of the Five-Year Longitudinal Study.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2025Article
- Mind-Body Medicine in the Treatment of Depression: A Narrative Review of Efficacy, Safety and Mechanisms.Current psychiatry reports · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
aimThe objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Tai Chi, a mind-body movement therapy originating from China, on depression in middle-aged and older adults.
methodsA systematic search was conducted in seven databases (Embase, Cochrane, Medline, Wanfang, SinoMed, Weipu date, CNKI) for Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) published until Apr 16, 2023. The quality assessment, heterogeneity analysis, subgroup analysis, and sensitivity analysis of 12 RCTs selected from the literature were performed. Meta-analyses were conducted using RevMan 5.4 software.
resultsThe study included 12 trials comprising 731 participants that met the inclusion criteria. The findings revealed that Tai Chi significantly improved depression in middle-aged and older adults [SMD = -1.21, 95% CI (-1.59, -0.83), I
conclusionThe study suggests that Tai Chi can be an alternative therapy for reducing depression in middle-aged and older adults. It is recommended to prolong the Tai Chi exercise period to more than 24 weeks, with a total exercise duration of more than 2400 min, and 24-style Tai Chi should be selected to achieve the best therapeutic effect in middle-aged and older adults with depression. It should be noted that there may be lower-quality studies in the RCT literature analyzed, which may limit the general applicability and credibility of the conclusions.
Indexed as
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.