Review Article The Effect of Qigong on Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Copyright © 2013 Chong-WenWang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Objective. To evaluate clinical trial evidence of the effectiveness of qigong exercise on depressive and anxiety symptoms.Methods. Thirteen databases were searched from their respective inception through December 2012. Relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. Effects of qigong across trials were pooled. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) were calculated for the pooled effects. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 test. Study quality was evaluated using the Wayne Checklist. Results. Twelve RCTs met the inclusion criteria. The results of meta-analyses suggested a beneficial effect of qigong exercise on depressive symptoms when compared to waiting-list controls or usual care only (SMD=−0.75; 95 % CI, −1.44 to −0.06), group newspaper reading (SMD=−1.24; 95%CI, −1.64 to −0.84), and walking or conventional exercise (SMD=−0.52; 95%CI, −0.85 to −0.19), which might be comparable to that of cognitive-behavioral therapy