Effect of Qigong exercise on non‐motor function and life quality in stroke patients: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

BACKGROUND: Qigong have a positive impact on the rehabilitation of motor function in stroke survivors, but there is no consensus on the effectiveness of Qigong on activities of daily living (ADL), neurological function, and life quality for patients with stroke. We aimed to quantitatively evaluate the effect of Qigong on non‐motor function and life quality in stroke patients. METHODS: Electronic literature searches were performed for randomized controlled trials on this topic using PubMed and China National Knowledge Infrastructure through August 2022. The primary outcome measures were the Barthel Index, neurological deficit score (NDS), and Stroke‐Specific Quality of Life Scale (SSQLS). A random‐effects model was used to calculate the pooled mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence interval (CI). RevMan 5.4 software was used for meta‐analysis. RESULTS: A total of 16 eligible randomized controlled trials with 1253 stroke patients were included. As indicated by the Barthel Index, Qigong was associated with the improvement in daily living activities of stroke patients (MD: 10.72, 95% CI: 5.88∼15.57). It was also found that Qigong was helpful in improving life quality (SSQLS, MD: 14.41, 95% CI: 5.56∼23.25) and reducing NDSs among them (NDS, MD: −4.56, 95% CI: −6.99∼−2.14). After sensitivity analysis, the effect of Qigong on these functions and life quality did not change significantly. By subgroup analysis of intervention duration, we found that long‐term intervention (MD: 11.83, 95% CI: 2.80∼20.86) had a better effect on the improvement of daily living activities than short‐term intervention (MD: 10.07, 95% CI: 6.15∼14.00) (p(for subgroup differences) = .001). CONCLUSIONS: Pooled results suggested that Qigong had beneficial effects on ADL, neurological function, and life quality in stroke patients, which may provide an option for their rehabilitation.