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Impact of Qigong on quality of life, pain and depressive symptoms in older adults admitted to an intermediate care rehabilitation unit: a randomized controlled trial

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Abstract

Background and aims

Qigong has been used as a complementary therapy to improve different health-related problems. This study aims to test the effects of Qigong on quality of life, pain and depressive symptoms in older hospitalized patients.

Methods

In this randomized controlled single blind study, we randomized 58 ≥50 years adults admitted to a post-acute intermediate care rehabilitation facility, to receive a 90 min, bi-weekly, 4-week structured Qigong intervention plus usual care and rehabilitation (N = 29) or usual care and rehabilitation alone (N = 29). Outcomes included quality of life (0–100 points visual analogical scale), pain (0–10 points scale), and depressive symptoms (5-item modified Yesavage Geriatric Depression Scale). We also evaluated participants’ compliance and safety.

Results

Of the enrolled 58 participants (mean age ± SD = 74.3 ± 8.2 years, 88 % women) we dropped-out four in the control group. No statistically significant differences in baseline characteristics were shown between groups, including age, gender, marital status, education, comorbidity and functional status, main diagnostic at admission and number of rehabilitation sessions. In an intention-to-treat analysis (repeated measures ANOVA) the intervention group experienced a significant improvement in quality of life (mean increase of 19 points vs 2.6 points for controls, p = 0.002). Pain and depressive symptoms improved in both groups. Adherence was good (79 % of participants completed the whole program). No adverse events were reported.

Conclusions

According to our results, a structured Qigong intervention, together with usual care, might contribute to improve quality of life of patients admitted to a post-acute intermediate care rehabilitation unit, compared to usual care.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge all the participants to the study and all the professionals of the Hospital Sociosanitari Pere Virgili who facilitated this research.

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interests related to the current investigation and topic.

Ethical aspects

This study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, and registered with the clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT00944788.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hospital Sociosantari Pere Virgili, Barcelona, Spain

    Núria Martínez, Carme Martorell, Lluís Espinosa, Violeta Marasigan & Marco Inzitari

  2. Institut de l’Envelliment de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Sara Domènech & Marco Inzitari

  3. Parc Sanitari Pere Virgili, C Esteve Terrades 30, 08023, Barcelona, Spain

    Núria Martínez

Authors
  1. Núria Martínez
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  2. Carme Martorell
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  3. Lluís Espinosa
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  4. Violeta Marasigan
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  5. Sara Domènech
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  6. Marco Inzitari
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Núria Martínez.

Additional information

Trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT00944788.

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Martínez, N., Martorell, C., Espinosa, L. et al. Impact of Qigong on quality of life, pain and depressive symptoms in older adults admitted to an intermediate care rehabilitation unit: a randomized controlled trial. Aging Clin Exp Res 27, 125–130 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-014-0250-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-014-0250-y

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