Health-Related Quality of Life in the Elderly Practicing T'ai Chi Chuan

Objective: Previous studies have shown health benefits of T'ai Chi Chuan (TCC). In Taiwan, TCC is a form of exercise that is widely practiced by the elderly. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the effects of TCC on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in the senior population. Methods: Subjects who regularly practiced TCC in Taiwan were selected by random sampling and included 140 seniors (77 males and 63 females, aged 40–70 years). The questionnaire was separated into 2 parts: demographic information and the SF-36 questionnaire, which used 8 domains to evaluate the subjects' HRQOL. The results were compared with those of 560 age- and sex-matched control subjects that were taken from the general population (308 males and 252 females). Multiple regression analysis was used to compare the quality of life in each of the 8 domains between the 2 groups. Results: The TCC group showed significantly higher quality-of-life scores than the control group in each of the 8 domains with the ...