Effects of traditional Chinese mind-body exercise-Baduanjin for type 2 diabetes on psychological well-being: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Type 2 diabetes is considered one of the most psychologically demanding chronic conditions. Patients suffering from this disease often have poor psychological well-being due to emotional stress. Baduanjin exercises, a traditional Chinese mind-body exercise, are used in the management of type 2 diabetes, especially for mental health. However, the effect of Baduanjin exercises on psychological well-being of patients with type 2 diabetes maintains controversial. Therefore, this systematic review was conducted to evaluate the effects on psychological well-being of Baduanjin exercises for type 2 diabetes.

Methods: Six electronic databases were searched from their inception to March 2022 for randomized controlled trials of Baduanjin exercises for type 2 diabetes. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed methodological quality based on PEDro scale. The subgroup analysis was conducted based on different control interventions. The Cochran Q statistic and were applied to assess the heterogeneity.

Results: Twenty-seven studies between 2005 and 2019 were included in our review. Most of them exceeded the cutoff score 6 based on the PEDro scale. In psychological well-being, the aggregated results indicated that Baduanjin exercises showed positive effects in psychological well-being (, 0.96; 95% , 0.57 to 1.36; < 0.00001), depression (, 1.03; 95% , 0.08 to 1.97; = 0.03), anxiety (, 0.88; 95% , 0.30 to 1.46; = 0.003), and mental health (, 0.72; 95% , 0.42 to 1.02; < 0.00001). In glycemic control, Baduanjin exercises showed better improvements in FBG (, 0.53; 95% , 0.34 to 0.72; < 0.00001), HbA1c (SMD, 0.58; 95% , 0.41 to 0.75; < 0.00001), and 2-hPBG (, 0.56; 95% , 0.08 to 1.03; = 0.02) compared with usual care/education. However, Baduanjin exercises only showed better improvements in HbA1c when compared with other exercises.

Conclusions: The traditional Chinese mind-body exercise-Baduanjin is a beneficial comprehensive therapy for type 2 diabetes, especially in promoting psychological well-being.

Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=110034.