scholarly journals Functional fitness and quality of life of elderly Lian Gong, Tai Chi, and Qigong practitioners

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Márcia Regina Martinez Tedeschi ◽  
Tatiane Assone ◽  
Mauro Ferreira ◽  
Káren Mendes Jorge de Souza

Abstract BACKGROUND Long-term regular physical activity, such as body practices of Traditional Chinese Medicine, seems to be an important habit for maintaining the functional fitness, independence and quality of life of elderly individuals. However, scientific knowledge production concerning assessment of such practices, specifically for the elderly population, focusing on functional fitness and quality of life, is still modest. Moreover, there is a lack of studies with long-term follow-up and control groups. Therefore, this study aims to compare the parameters of functional fitness and the dimensions of quality of life of elderly participants and non-participants in the body practices of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Longer adherence time, shorter adherence time and control group have been considered. METHODS This is an observational epidemiological case-control study carried out with 118 elderly individuals (≥ 60 years). The case group was represented by 59 elderly people practicing the body practices of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and they were subdivided into two groups, according to their median adherence time (< 24 months and ≥ 24 months). The control group was composed of 59 participants who were not participating in physical activity programs or guided body practices. Collection was carried out in four Traditional Medicine Specialized Units of the Municipal Health Office of the city of São Paulo. Sociodemographic and functional variables were collected. Quality of life was measured by Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). For data analysis, a univariate logistic regression and the Kruskal Wallis test have been performed. RESULTS When assessing quality of life, favorable results were found for the case group, with longer (≥ 24 months) adherence time in the domains of bodily pain (p = 0.003), vitality (p = 0.021), role emotional (p = 0.034), and mental health (p = 0.020). A better result was observed in the case group, with longer (≥ 24 months) adherence time in the functional 30-second chair stand test (p = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS The body practices of Traditional Chinese Medicine can contribute to quality of life, functional fitness, and lower limb strength.

2022 ◽  
Vol 2022 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Yan Wu ◽  
Zhenna Zhang ◽  
Yangfan Liu ◽  
Guangwen Shi ◽  
Xuehai Ding

Objective. To explore the effects of traditional Chinese medicine nursing on general anesthesia combined with epidural anesthesia and electric resection to treat bladder cancer and its influence on tumor markers. Methods. A total of 160 patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer who underwent general anesthesia combined with epidural anesthesia and resection were included in this study. The patients were divided into control group (n = 80) and study group (n = 80) according to the random number table method. The control group received hydroxycamptothecin bladder perfusion therapy, and the study group received traditional Chinese medicine nursing combined with hydroxycamptothecin bladder perfusion therapy. The clinical efficacy, three-year cumulative survival rate, and postoperative recurrence rate of the two groups of patients were detected. The levels of tumor markers including vascular endothelial growth factor (VECF) and bladder tumor antigen (BTA) before and after treatment were also tested. The immune function, inflammatory factor levels, and quality of life of the two groups before and after treatment were evaluated. Results. The total effective rate of the study group (83.75%) was significantly higher than that of the control group (58.75%). After treatment, the serum VEGF and BTA levels, inflammatory factors interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels of the two groups of patients decreased, and the decrease in the study group was more significant than that in the control group P < 0.05 . After treatment, the levels of CD3+, CD4+, and CD4+/CD8+ in the two groups increased P < 0.05 , and the increase in the study group was more significant than that in the control group P < 0.05 . After treatment, the CD8+ levels of the two groups of patients decreased P < 0.05 , and the decrease in the study group was more significant than that in the control group P < 0.05 . After treatment, the quality-of-life scores in both groups increased P < 0.05 , and the increase in the study group was even more significant P < 0.05 . Conclusion. Traditional Chinese medicine nursing has significant clinical effects on the treatment of bladder cancer with general anesthesia combined with epidural anesthesia and electric resection. It can more effectively prevent the risk of recurrence of bladder cancer after surgery, significantly improve the quality of life, improve immune system function, regulate the levels of VECF and BTA, effectively reduce the level of serum inflammatory factors, inhibit tumor progression, and reduce tumor viability.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pei-Yu Hsu ◽  
Sien-Hung Yang ◽  
Ngan-Ming Tsang ◽  
Kang-Hsing Fan ◽  
Chia-Hsun Hsieh ◽  
...  

Xerostomia is one of the most common acute and late complications of radiotherapy for head and neck cancer, and it affects quality of life. We conducted a prospective study to evaluate the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in toxicities and quality of life during radiotherapy. Head and neck cancer patients who were scheduled for radiotherapy were checked for inclusion/exclusion criteria before enrollment. Patients in the study group (inpatients) were hospitalized in a Chinese medicine ward and received concomitant TCM intervention during radiotherapy, while those in the control group (outpatients) received only conventional cancer treatments at the Western outpatient department. The primary end point was amelioration of postradiotherapy side effects. The secondary end points were quality of life during the cancer therapy and occurrence of adverse events following the TCM treatments. Thirty inpatients and 50 outpatients completed the study. Compared to the control group, those in the TCM group had decreased severity of xerostomia. There was no treatment-related impairment of renal or hepatic function among TCM group. Although better outcomes of social contact, dyspnea, physical and emotional function, and financial problems were found in the TCM group, we need further confirmation about the impact of hospitalization itself on these results.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 38-42
Author(s):  
Xuan Gong ◽  
Liming Zhang ◽  
Lizhi Niu

Objective: To discuss the management of safe medication in the treatment of internal diseases in traditional Chinese medicine. Methods: 124 patients with medical diseases were divided into experimental group and control group by random number table method, with 62 cases in each group. The experimental group implemented safe medication management, and the control group implemented routine medication management, all of which were treated for 4 consecutive weeks. The comparison of the improvement of the quality of life, the compliance rate of safe medication and the adverse drug reactions of the two groups after clinical treatment were compared. Results: After 8 weeks of treatment, there was a significant difference in clinical efficacy between the two groups of patients. In terms of quality-of-life scores, the scores of the experimental group were better than those of the control group. The living ability, condition, physical strength and other conditions of patients were significantly different. The t-values were 15.3427, 14.0275, and 7.7113, respectively, and P<0.01 was statistically significant. The compliance rates of patients in the experimental group and observation group were 95.16% and 70.96%, respectively, with significant differences (P<0.05). In terms of the incidence of adverse drug events, the experimental group was 3.22%, which was significantly lower than the observation group’s 8.06% (P<0.05). Conclusion: The implementation of safe medication management in the clinical treatment of TCM internal diseases can improve the quality of life of patients to a certain extent, increase their safe medication compliance rate, and reduce the incidence of adverse medication events. The clinical application value is extremely high, and it can be widely promoted and applied.


Author(s):  
Archana Kumari ◽  
Sony Sinha

Aim: to evaluate quality of life in primary open angle glaucoma patients using a standard questionnaire. Material and methods: The present prospective case-control study was conducted in the department of Ophthalmology, Patna Medical College and Hospital, Patna, Bihar, India. The study included 200 subjects who were divided into (case group n=100) and (control group n=100). Quality of life was assessed using Glaucoma Quality Of Life-15 Questionnaire (GQOL-15).   Results: Mean age of patients in case group (n=100) and control group (n=100) was 57.97 years, and 57.84 years respectively. Overall QOL score was significantly between the two groups (p<0001). QOL score increases as the Glaucoma Severity score increases. Conclusion: QOL of patients with glaucoma was found poor as compared to control group. It showed a clear trend of worsening QOL scores with increasing severity of disease. Keywords: Glaucoma, Quality of life, QOL-15


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 153473541881079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Xie ◽  
Zhihua Cui ◽  
Kai Peng ◽  
Xiehai Zhou ◽  
Quan Xia ◽  
...  

Background: Clinical research has paid increasing attention to quality of life (QoL) in recent years, but the assessment of QoL is difficult, hampered by the subjectivity, complexity, and adherence of patients and physicians. According to previous studies, QoL in cancer patients is related to performance status (PS) and influenced by chemotherapy-related toxicity. Aidi injection, a traditional Chinese medicine injection, is used as an adjuvant drug to enhance effectiveness of chemotherapy. The study aims to investigate whether Aidi injection could improve QoL by improving PS and reducing toxicity caused by chemotherapy. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medicine University. Data of consecutive patients diagnosed with cancers between January 2014 and June 2017 were retrieved from the electronic medical record system. After a 1:1 propensity score match, patients were then divided into 2 groups based on the therapies used, that is, Aidi injection combined with chemotherapy and chemotherapy alone, and the PS, chemotherapy-related toxicity, and combined medication information were compared. The effect of different dosages of Aidi injection on patients was further explored. Results: A total of 3200 patients were included in this study. Aidi injection combined with chemotherapy exhibited significantly benefit in PS ( P < .001, odds ratio [OR] 3.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.4-4.8) compared with chemotherapy alone after adjusting for the factors that affect PS. The improvement rate of PS in the Aidi group was significantly higher than in the control group across the stratification of gender, age, tumor type, TNM stage, body mass index, nodal metastasis, prior chemotherapy, chemotherapy regimens, other Chinese tradition medicines, and chemotherapy cycle. Meanwhile, Aidi injection used synchronously with chemotherapeutic drugs could decrease the incident rate of damage to liver and kidney function, myelosuppression, and gastrointestinal reactions caused by chemotherapy. Conclusion: It was indicated that the integrative approach combining chemotherapy with Aidi injection, especially with the conventional dosage of Aidi injection, had significant benefit on QoL in cancer patients.


Author(s):  
Natália Ramos Imamura de Vasconcelos ◽  
Gilsenir Maria Prevelato de Almeida Dátilo ◽  
Agnaldo Bruno Chies ◽  
Eduardo Federighi Baisi Chagas ◽  
Thiago José Querino de Vasconcelos ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: to evaluate oxidative stress and non-enzymatic antioxidant defenses in informal caregivers, and correlations with anxiety, health satisfaction and quality of life. Method: a case-control analytical study was performed, where the case was represented by the main informal caregiver and the control was paired with individuals with identical characteristics to the case, but who were not informal caregivers. The following instruments were used: a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Beck anxiety scale and the WHOQoL-Bref. Oxidative stress was measured through blood by analysis of the Ferric Reducing Ability of Plasma (FRAP) and Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS) markets. Results: most informal caregivers were females. There was no difference in the degree of anxiety between the Case and Control groups. Among informal caregivers, 9.4% said they were very dissatisfied and 53.1% dissatisfied with their health. Most caregivers (43.8%) rated their quality of life as poor and 12.5% as very poor, while most controls rated it as good (68.8%). The TBARS and FRAP values were lower in the Case group than in the Control group. Conclusion: The informal caregivers, who were mostly women, defined themselves as dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their health. Nevertheless, they did not manifest a higher degree of anxiety in comparison with the control population. In addition, they presented a lower degree of oxidative stress than the non-caregiving participants, perhaps due to a greater mobilization of the non-enzymatic antioxidant defenses present in the body.


Author(s):  
Ifra Abdul Qaiyyum ◽  
Mohammad Nawab ◽  
Munawwar Husain Kazmi

Abstract Objectives Kalaf (Melasma) is an acquired facial hypermelanism. It has direct impact on patient’s quality of life and leads to development of various personality disorders. Lack of effective treatment and recurrences have drawn the attention of researcher to find alternative treatment. This study aimed to evaluate safety and efficacy of a topical Unani formulation in the management of melasma. Methods We conducted a prospective randomized controlled clinical study on the participants diagnosed with melasma. The participants (n=72) randomized into test (n=36) and control (n=36) groups. Sixty participants (n=30 in each group) completed the duration of therapy. The participants of the test group were treated with a classical Unani formulation and control group with hydroquinone 4%. The primary end point was change in mean MASI score and secondary end point was improvement in quality of life after eight weeks of treatment. Results The Unani formulation reduced 40.5% mean MASI score (17.31 ± 9.58 to 10.28 ± 5.92) in comparison to 32% reduction in mean MASI score (20.58 ± 9.49 to 13.92 ± 7.38) in the control group after eight weeks of treatment. When comparing with baseline the difference in MASI score was found statistically significant in both groups (p<0.05). On intergroup comparison, the change in MASI score between both groups was not statistically significant (p>0.05). In addition, MQOL and DQLI also improved significantly in both groups. Conclusions This study concluded that the Unani formulation and the control drug were equally effective and safer in the management of melasma.


Author(s):  
Somayeh Ghadimi ◽  
Atefeh Fakharian ◽  
Mohsen Abedi ◽  
Reyhaneh Zahiri ◽  
Mahsan Norouz Afjeh ◽  
...  

Background: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) leads to limited activity and reduced quality of life. Treatment of this disease is a long-term process that requires the cooperation of patients in monitoring and treatment. Methods: In the present study which was conducted from April 2019 to March 2021 in Masih Daneshvari Hospital, Tehran, Iran, 75 patients were randomly divided into telerehabilitation and control groups. Patients in the control group received pulmonary rehabilitation including respiratory, isometric, and aerobic exercises for 8 weeks, three times per week. In the second group, patients were given a lung rehabilitation booklet and asked to repeat the exercises three times a week for four weeks according to a specific schedule. In addition, patients installed Behzee care application on the mobile phone that recorded various indicators such as heart rate, SpO2, dyspnea, fatigue, and daily activities. This application reminded the patient of the program every day and at a specific time. Finally, the patients’ conditions were compared in the two groups after 8 weeks using CAT and mMRC questionnaires and 6-Minute Walk (6MW) exercise indices as well as spirometry tests. Results: In all four indicators (6MW, CAT,  and mMRC questionnaires as well as spirometry), patients showed improvement after rehabilitation (p<0.001). This improvement was significantly higher in the telemedicine group compared to the other group (p<0.01). Conclusion: The use of telerehabilitation in COPD patients is effective in improving spirometry indices, quality of life, as well as activity and sports indices.


2015 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 243
Author(s):  
Hilda Hilda ◽  
Bidasari Lubis ◽  
Hakimi Hakimi ◽  
Olga Rasiyanti Siregar

Background Cancer treatment in children influences the quality of life of patients and their families. The Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL) inventory is a questionnaire to assess quality of life of the healthy and ill children. Objective To compare quality of life in children with cancer and their normal siblings, and to compare quality of life in those with hematologic malignancies to those with solid tumors. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 5-to-18- year-olds at the Hematology-Oncology Division at Haji Adam Malik Hospital, Medan, North Sumatera, from May to July 2012. The case group (subjects with cancer) filled the PedsQL 3.0 and 4.0 questionnaires, while the control group (normal siblings) filled only the PedsQL 4.0 questionnaire. Independent T-test was used to compare the quality of life between children with cancer and their normal siblings. Results There were 46 children in each group. The PedsQL 4.0 results in children with cancer and their normal siblings, and PedsQL 3.0 between hematology malignant and solid cancer were as follows: physical function 36.9 vs. 80.7, respectively (95%CI of differences -52.639 to -34.990; P= 0.0001), emotional function 40.4 vs. 69.3, respectively (95%CI of differences -35.912 to -21.914; P=0.0001), social function 71.5 vs. 93.9, respectively (95%CI of differences - 29.238 to -15.587; P=0.0001), school function 20.7 vs. 74.2, respectively (95%CI of differences - 62.124 to -44.832; P=0.0001), and total score 42.1 vs. 79.3, respectively (95%CI of differences - 43.066 to -31.344; P=0.0001). School function was the most affected parameter in children with cancer compared to their normal siblings. Conclusion There is a significant difference in quality of life between children with cancer and their normal siblings, for all four parameters examined by the PedsQL inventory. However, there are no significant differences in quality of life between children with hematologic malignancy and those with solid cancer.


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