Managing hypertension in aging adults often requires balancing multiple interventions, but determining which traditional movement practices deliver the greatest cardiovascular benefits has remained unclear. This comprehensive network analysis now provides evidence-based rankings for optimizing treatment selection among older hypertensive patients.
The meta-analysis examined 44 randomized controlled trials encompassing 3,478 older adults with hypertension, comparing five traditional Chinese exercise modalities across multiple health outcomes. Wuqinxi and Qigong emerged as equally effective for blood pressure reduction, while Baduanjin demonstrated superior performance for cholesterol management and sleep quality improvement. Tai Chi showed the strongest triglyceride-lowering effects among all interventions studied.
This research addresses a critical gap in evidence-based medicine for aging populations. While individual studies have suggested benefits from traditional movement practices, this network approach allows direct comparison between interventions that are rarely studied head-to-head. The findings suggest these exercises may offer targeted benefits rather than universal effects - an important distinction for personalized treatment planning. However, the analysis faces typical limitations of traditional medicine research, including varied intervention protocols and potential cultural factors affecting adherence. The study population was entirely from Chinese databases, which may limit generalizability to other populations. Additionally, most included trials had relatively short follow-up periods, leaving questions about long-term sustainability of benefits. For clinicians and patients seeking evidence-based alternatives to pharmaceutical management, this analysis provides the most comprehensive comparative data available for traditional exercise interventions in hypertensive seniors.