Effects of mind–body exercise on motor function, quality of life, and depressive symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Purpose This study used network meta-analysis to compare and rank the effects of different mind–body exercises on motor function, depression, and quality of life in patients with Parkinson’s disease, to inform clinical practice. Methods PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database, and VIP Database were searched from inception to June 8, 2026, for randomized controlled trials of mind–body exercise interventions in Parkinson’s disease. Network meta-analysis was performed using Stata version 18.0. Direct and indirect evidence was synthesized, and interventions were ranked using the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA). Risk of bias and certainty of evidence were assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach, respectively. Results A total of 43 studies involving 2,337 patients with Parkinson’s disease were included. For balance measured using the Berg Balance Scale, dance was significantly more effective than no treatment, walking, and usual care. For functional mobility measured using the Timed Up and Go Test, qigong was significantly more effective than tai chi, Dance, stretching, no treatment, and usual care. For overall motor function measured using the Unifed Parkinson’s Disease rating Scale, Part III, yoga was significantly more effective than usual care and no treatment. For depressive symptoms measured using the Hamilton Depression Scale, tai chi was significantly more effective than qigong, no treatment, walking, and usual care. For health-related quality of life, as measured by the Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire, qigong was significantly more effective than usual care. Conclusion Moderate-certainty evidence supported benefits of dance for balance and qigong for functional mobility and quality of life compared with usual care, but superiority over other exercise modalities remains uncertain. For overall motor function, the current evidence is insufficient to identify a clearly superior mind–body exercise intervention, and the findings for Pilates and yoga remain uncertain, with the significant effects of yoga not proving robust in sensitivity analysis. Tai chi showed potential benefits for depressive symptoms; however, this finding should be interpreted cautiously because it was based on a limited number of studies and relied substantially on indirect comparisons. Systematic review registration PROSPERO , CRD420261418269.