Long-term effects of early Tai Chi on exercise tolerance, anxiety, depression, and quality of life in hospitalized patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Objectives: Early sustained exercise can help patients with an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) to quickly return to a steady state; however, to the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have examined the long-term effects of early Tai-Chi or Tai Chi as a bridge between early exercise during hospitalization and exercise at home. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of early Tai Chi on exercise tolerance, anxiety, depression, health-related quality of life and biomarkers in hospitalized patients with AECOPD. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted. A purposive sampling of 31 patients with AECOPD (experimental group n=17 and control group n=14) was selected from hospitals in the Yunlin-Chiayi area. Data were collected during pre-intervention, at discharge, and one week, one month, three months or six months after discharge. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the effects of the Tai Chi training intervention. Results: The experimental group had better exercise tolerance than did the control group one week after discharge (p=0.008) and six months after discharge (p=0.012). The experimental group had a better quality of life than the control group three months after discharge (p=0.040). The experimental group had decreased biomarker levels (Interleukin-6, p=0.017 and C-reactive protein, p=0.013) more than the control group three months after hospitalization. Anxiety, depression, and other biomarkers (YKL-40 and LCN2) failed to find statistical significance. Conclusions: Early Tai Chi helped promote early exercise in patients with AECOPD.