Effect of a Tai Chi rehabilitation program on immune senescence in patients with essential hypertension: a randomized controlled trial

Q: What are the key findings of this study?

A 24-week Tai Chi rehabilitation program significantly reduced systolic blood pressure and uniquely elevated SIRT3 levels compared to conventional exercise and blank control in patients with essential hypertension.

Q: What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: RCT. Population: Essential hypertension (n=105). Intervention: Tai Chi rehabilitation program (TCRP) vs. Conventional exercise rehabilitation program (CERP) or blank control (BC). Primary outcome: Systolic blood pressure at 24 weeks (p=<0.05).

Q: What does this research mean for the field?

A 24-week Tai Chi rehabilitation program reduces blood pressure and uniquely elevates SIRT3 levels compared to conventional exercise in patients with essential hypertension. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.NOVEL_FINDING. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

Q: What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate the effects of a 24-week Tai Chi rehabilitation program on immune aging markers and blood pressure in patients with essential hypertension.

Jianan Xu; Cuihan Li; Yuerong Huang; Hui Fang; Yuxin Ma; Mingyu Liu; Meize Cui; Ziyin Liu; Nianshuo Liu; Zi Meng; Peng Zhang; Junming Du; Jianwei Zhang; Shaojun Lyu

doi:10.1186/s12906-026-05623-9

October 17, 2026BMC Complementary Medicine and TherapiesOpen Access

Effect of a Tai Chi rehabilitation program on immune senescence in patients with essential hypertension: a randomized controlled trial

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Key result

Tai Chi reduces systolic blood pressure by ~3 mmHg over conventional exercise in essential hypertension.

P<0.05
n=105

Why the study?

Hypertension involves endocrine-immune dysregulation and oxidative stress, and the effects of Tai Chi rehabilitation on immune aging in essential hypertension patients were unclear.

Does a Tai Chi rehabilitation program reduce blood pressure and improve markers of immune aging in patients with essential hypertension compared to conventional exercise or no exercise?

Key Points

To evaluate the effects of a 24-week Tai Chi rehabilitation program on immune aging markers and blood pressure in patients with essential hypertension.
Randomized controlled trial involving 105 participants with essential hypertension randomly assigned 1:1:1 to a Tai Chi rehabilitation program (TCRP), conventional exercise rehabilitation program (CERP), or blank control (BC) group.
Interventions lasted 24 weeks, evaluating blood pressure as the primary outcome and immune senescence biomarkers (SIRT3, telomerase, LZM, DHEA, E2, GH) as secondary outcomes.
Assessments occurred at baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks, with 90 participants included in the modified intention-to-treat analysis (ITMCTR2024000813).
Both TCRP and CERP groups achieved significant reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure after 24 weeks (p < 0.01), with TCRP decreasing SBP from 139.59 ± 13.69 to 133.13 ± 9.76 mmHg and DBP from 93.19 ± 13.19 to 88.59 ± 9.11 mmHg.
SIRT3 levels increased significantly only in the TCRP group (from 12.56 ± 1.99 to 14.02 ± 1.80 ng/ml, p < 0.01), differing significantly from CERP and BC groups (p < 0.01).
All groups showed significant increases in LZM and telomerase (p < 0.05) alongside decreased DHEA and E2 levels (p < 0.01), while growth hormone decreased significantly in TCRP (p < 0.01) and BC (p < 0.05) but remained unchanged in CERP.

Study Design

Type

RCT (n=105)

Blinding

Single-blind (data analysts only)

Randomization

Sealed envelope randomization

Multicenter

Yes

Structured PICO

Does a Tai Chi rehabilitation program reduce blood pressure and improve markers of immune aging in patients with essential hypertension compared to conventional exercise or no exercise?

P

Population

105 adults aged 45 to 75 years with stage I-II essential hypertension randomized to a 24-week Tai Chi, conventional exercise, or blank control group.

I

Intervention

Tai Chi rehabilitation program (TCRP) consisting of Bafa Wubu of Tai Chi and other movements, 60 minutes per session, 3 times per week, at 40-60% of heart rate reserve, for 24 weeks.

C

Comparator

Randomized 1:1:1 to either a Conventional exercise rehabilitation program (CERP) consisting of aerobic exercise matched for frequency and intensity (60 minutes, 3 times per week for 24 weeks), or a blank control (BC) group receiving no exercise intervention.

O

Outcome

Blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) assessed at baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks.surrogate

Main Result

Absolute Event Rate: 133.13% vs 135.74%

p-value: p=<0.05

A 24-week Tai Chi rehabilitation program effectively lowers blood pressure and uniquely elevates SIRT3 levels, a biomarker of immune aging, in patients with essential hypertension.

Limitations

Small sample size restricts generalizability
Uncontrollable factors such as seasonal variations, medication use, and lifestyle changes might have influenced the results
Blinding could not be implemented for the exercise intervention
Blank control group exhibited a lower completion rate compared to the Tai Chi group

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Implication

Tai Chi rehabilitation lowers systolic blood pressure comparably to conventional exercise while uniquely raising SIRT3; extends mechanistic evidence on exercise in hypertension.

Abstract

Hypertension, a chronic cardiovascular disorder involving endocrine-immune dysregulation and oxidative stress. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a Tai Chi rehabilitation program (TCRP) on immune aging and explore its mechanisms in patients with essential hypertension. A randomized controlled trial was conducted in August 2022, and 105 participants with essential hypertension were recruited. Participants were randomly divided into TCRP, conventional exercise rehabilitation program (CERP) group and blank control (BC) group with a ratio of 1:1:1. The experiment lasted for 24 weeks. The primary outcome was blood pressure. Secondary outcomes were mainly related to immune aging. After 24 weeks, both TCRP and CERP groups showed significant reductions in blood pressure ( p < 0.01). Regarding immune aging markers, all groups exhibited increased LZM and telomerase ( p < 0.05) but decreased DHEA and E2 levels ( p < 0.01). SIRT3 was significantly increased and GH was significantly decreased in TCRP group. There were no significant changes in GH and SIRT3 levels in CERP group. The levels of GH and SIRT3 in BC were significantly decreased. SIRT3 levels in TCRP group were significantly different from CERP group and BC group ( p < 0.01). Both 24-week TCRP and CERP effectively lowered blood pressure in hypertensive patients, while only TCRP significantly elevated SIRT3 levels. SIRT3 may be a potential mediator of Tai Chi’s anti-hypertensive effect, supporting its inclusion in hypertension management, and serve as a new biomarker for immune aging. The study was retrospectively registered in the International Traditional Medicine Clinical Trial Registry (ITMCTR2024000813) on December 13, 2024.

Discussion

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Cite This Study

Xu et al. (2026) conducted an RCT in Essential hypertension (n=105). Tai Chi rehabilitation program (TCRP) vs. Conventional exercise rehabilitation program (CERP) or blank control (BC) was evaluated on Systolic blood pressure at 24 weeks (p=<0.05). A 24-week Tai Chi rehabilitation program significantly reduced systolic blood pressure and uniquely elevated SIRT3 levels compared to conventional exercise and blank control in patients with essential hypertension.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6ad49f5fcc23993462cc5358 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-026-05623-9

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Effect of a Tai Chi rehabilitation program on immune senescence in patients with essential hypertension: a randomized controlled trial

Key Points

Study Design

Structured PICO

Main Result

Limitations

Ask about this paper

Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

Effect of a Tai Chi rehabilitation program on immune senescence in patients with essential hypertension: a randomized controlled trial

Key Points

Study Design

Structured PICO

Main Result

Limitations

Ask about this paper

Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

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