- A study shows that people with type 2 diabetes-related mild cognitive impairment experienced a slowing of their cognitive decline after participating in Tai chi chuan sessions.
- The session lasted for 24 weeks, during which another group performed an equivalent amount of brisk walking.
- Compared to walking, Tai chi chuan’s benefits were greater after 36 weeks.
- One hypothesis for Tai chi chuan’s larger effect is its emphasis on continual learning through the constant memorization and ongoing refinement of positions and movements.
Tai chi chuan helped delay cognitive decline in people with mild cognitive impairment associated with type 2 diabetes, according to a new study, especially when compared to brisk walking. Researchers at the Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Fuzhou, China conducted a randomized clinical trial that demonstrated the cognitive value of the ancient martial art.
Researchers found that Tai chi chuan slowed the advance of cognitive impairment in people with type 2 diabetes more than an equivalent amount of walking exercise.
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is frequently accompanied by a form of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) that is separate from age-related cognitive decline.
The study was published in
The study involved 328 individuals over 60 who had been clinically diagnosed with T2D and MCI. All participants took a 30-minute diabetes self-management class once every four weeks for 24 weeks.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The first group received instruction in 24-form simplified Tai chi chuan, or “Tai chi.” The second group was trained in moderate-intensity fitness walking. The two groups each took part in 60-minute supervised tai chi or walking sessions three times a week for 24 weeks.
The third group, the control group, did not receive any Tai chi or fitness-walking training.
The Tai chi and walking groups earned better scores in cognitive tests than the control group after 24 weeks and…
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