Effects of tai chi chuan on anxiety and sleep quality in young adults: lessons from a randomized controlled feasibility study

Figures & data

Figure 1 CONSORT flow diagram for tai chi feasibility study.

Table 1 Baseline participant characteristics by group

Variable	Overall mean (SD)	Control group (N=19), mean (SD, min, max)	Tai chi group (N=28), mean (SD, min, max)	Enhanced tai chi (N=28), mean (SD, min, max)	p-value*
Age	21.1 (3.5)	22.4 (5.5, 18, 40)	21.2 (3.0, 18, 32)	20.2 (1.2, 18, 24)	0.1
Gender					0.8
Female	51	14	18	19
Male	24	5	10	9
Race					0.9
White	66	17	24	25
Non-white	9	2	4	3
Ethnicity					0.9
Hispanic or Latino	7	2	3	2
Non-Hispanic	67	17	25	25
No response	1	0	0	1
STAI-S	37.6 (8.9)	35.3 (9.3)	38.9 (8.0)	37.9 (9.5)	0.4
PSQI total score	6.6 (2.7)	5.7 (3.0)	7.3 (2.7)	6.4 (2.4)	0.1
PSQI component 1, subjective sleep quality	1.2 (0.5)	1.2 (0.5)	1.2 (0.4)	1.0 (0.5)	0.3
PSQI component 2, sleep latency	1.6 (1.0)	1.3 (1.0)	1.8 (0.8)	1.5 (1.0)	0.3
PSQI component 3, sleep duration	0.6 (0.7)	0.5 (0.6)	0.6 (0.8)	0.6 (0.6)	0.8
Sleep duration raw data, hours	7.2 (1.1)	7.3 (1.2)	7.2 (1.1)	7.2 (1.0)	0.7
PSQI component 4, habitual sleep efficiency	0.6 (0.9)	0.5 (0.8)	0.6 (1.0)	0.8 (0.9)	0.6
Habitual sleep efficiency raw data, %	85.9 (12.5)	87.5 (13.2)	86.7 (13.0)	83.9 (11.3)	0.2
PSQI component 5, sleep disturbances	1.3 (0.5)	1.2 (0.5)	1.5 (0.5)	1.3 (0.5)	0.1
PSQI component 6, use of sleeping medication	0.3 (0.6)	0.2 (0.5)	0.5 (0.9)	0.1 (0.3)	0.1
PSQI component 7, daytime dysfunction	1.0 (0.6)	0.8 (0.6)	1.1 (0.6)	1.1 (0.6)	0.1

Note:

* p-values for differences across groups in baseline characteristics.

Abbreviations: STAI-S, state–trait anxiety inventory state; PSQI, Pittsburg sleep quality index; SD, standard deviation.

Table 2 Adherent participants’ baseline and change scores at 4 weeks, 10 weeks (immediate post-intervention), and at 2 month follow-up by treatment group

	Retained control (N=17)	p-value*	Tai chi (N=33)	p-value*	p-value between groups	Hedges’ g between groups
State anxiety
Baseline	35.36		37.9
4 weeks	−1.1(2.0)	0.6	−3.7 (1.4)	0.01	0.3	0.3
10 weeks	−0.6 (2.1)	0.8	−4.3 (1.5)	<0.01	0.2	0.4
2 months follow-up	−1.1 (2.1)	0.6	−5.1 (1.5)	<0.01	0.1	0.4
PSQI total scores
Baseline	5.7		6.2
4 weeks	−0.8 (0.4)	0.1	−1.3 (0.3)	<0.01	0.3	0.3
10 weeks	−1.4 (0.4)	<0.01	−2.3 (0.3)	<0.01	0.1	0.5
2 months follow-up	−1.52 (0.44)	<0.01	−3.25 (0.32)	<0.01	<0.01	1.0
PSQI component 1, subjective sleep quality
Baseline	1.2		1.0
4 weeks	−0.2 (0.1)	0.2	−0.2 (0.1)	0.01	0.7	0.1
10 weeks	−0.1 (0.1)	0.3	−0.3 (0.1)	<0.01	0.3	0.3
2 months follow-up	−0.3 (0.1)	0.03	−0.5 (0.1)	<0.01	0.1	0.4
PSQI component 2, sleep latency
Baseline	1.3		1.5
4 weeks	−0.7 (0.1)	<0.01	−0.5 (0.1)	<0.01	0.5	0.2
10 weeks	−0.8 (0.1)	<0.01	−1.0 (0.1)	<0.01	0.2	0.4
2 months follow-up	−0.8 (0.1)	<0.01	−1.1 (0.1)	<0.01	0.1	0.5
Sleep duration (hours)
Baseline	7.3		7.3
4 weeks	−0.1 (0.2)	0.5	0.2 (0.2)	0.3	0.3	0.4
10 weeks	−0.2 (0.2)	0.3	0 (0.2)	0.9	0.4	0.6
2 months follow-up	0.7 (0.2)	<0.01	0.6 (0.2)	<0.01	0.6	0.01
Habitual sleep efficiency (%)
Baseline	87.5		86.3
4 weeks	2.5 (2.1)	0.3	2.4 (1.5)	0.1	1.0	0.01
10 weeks	2.9 (2.2)	0.2	1.9 (1.6)	0.2	0.7	0.1
2 months follow-up	1.7 (2.3)	0.5	2.6 (1.6)	0.1	0.7	0.1
PSQI component 5, sleep disturbances
Baseline	1.2		1.4
4 weeks	−0.1 (0.1)	0.2	−0.1 (0.1)	0.5	0.6	0.2
10 weeks	−0.1 (0.1)	0.3	−0.1 (0.1)	0.1	0.8	0.1
2 months follow-up	0.1 (0.1)	0.5	−0.3 (0.1)	<0.01	0	0.8
PSQI component 6, use of sleeping medication
Baseline	0.2		0.3
4 weeks	0.1 (0.1)	0.4	−0.1 (0.1)	0.6	0.3	0.3
10 weeks	−0.1 (0.1)	0.4	0 (0.1)	0.7	0.3	0.3
2 months follow-up	0 (0.1)	1.0	−0.1 (0.1)	0.2	0.4	0.3
PSQI component 7, daytime dysfunction
Baseline	0.8		1.0
4 weeks	−0.1 (0.1)	0.4	−0 (0.1)	0.6	0.7	0.1
10 weeks	−0.5 (0.1)	<0.01	−0.7 (1.1)	<0.01	0.2	0.4
2 month follow-up	−0.5 (0.1)	<0.01	−0.8 (0.1)	<0.01	0.01	0.8

Notes: Baseline values were subtracted from values at 4 weeks, 10 weeks, and 2 month follow-up to calculate change scores such that negative results = reduction from baseline. Standard errors are shown in parentheses.

* p-values are a result of comparing the change score at each time point within the group to zero.

Abbreviation: PSQI, Pittsburg sleep quality index.