Association of Tai Chi Exercise with Physical and Neurocognitive Functions, Frailty, Quality of Life and Mortality in Older Adults: Singapore Longitudinal Ageing Study.

Background: real-worldobservationsonthelong-termbenefitsofTaiChi(TC)exercise,intermsofphysicalandcognitivefunctioning,frailty,qualityoflife(QOL)andmortalityarelacking. prospectivecohortstudyparticipantswerecommunity-dwellingadultsaged55+,including5,407non-frequentTCparticipants(<1x/week)and572frequentTCparticipants(≥1x/week).Outcomemeasuresatbaselineand3–5yearsfollow-upincludedphysicalperformance(KneeExtensionStrength,POMABalanceandGait,Timed-up-and-go,GaitSpeed)andneurocognitiveperformance(attentionandworkingmemory,visual-motortrackingandmentalflexibility,verballearningandmemory,visualmemory,spatialandconstructionalability),FrailtyIndex≥0.10,impairedQOL(SF12physicalandmentalcomponent)andall-causemortalityfrommean13yearsfollow-up.Effectestimateswereadjustedforsocio-demographics,otherphysicalactivities,nutritionalriskandpresenceofcardiometabolicdiseases. frequentTCparticipationwasassociatedwith0.7-foldlowerprevalenceofimpairedphysicalQOL[95%confidenceinterval(CI)=0.57–0.91],decreased0.4-foldoddsofincidentprefrailty/frailtyamongrobustparticipantsatbaselineand0.7-foldoddsofimpairedmentalQOLatfollow-upamongparticipantswithnormalmentalQOLatbaseline.Loweroddsofmortalityrisk(HR=0.89,95%CI=0.72–1.09)werenotsignificantaftercontrollingforsocioeconomic,behaviouralandhealthfactors.Compositeindexesofphysicalfunctionalandneurocognitiveperformanceweremaintainedathighlevelorincreasedatfollow-upamongfrequentTCparticipants. TCexercisepractisedamongcommunity-dwellingolderadultsisassociatedwithbetterphysical,cognitiveandfunctionalwellbeing.Methods: Results: Conclusion: