Projecting ischaemic heart disease mortality and morbidity in Hong Kong

published_or_final_versio

The psychophysiological effects of Tai-chi and exercise in residential Schizophrenic patients: a 3-arm randomized controlled trial

Background Patients with schizophrenia are characterized by high prevalence rates and chronicity that often leads to long-term institutionalization. Under the traditional medical model, treatment usually emphasizes the management of psychotic symptoms through medication, even though anti-psychotic drugs are associated with severe side effects, which can diminish patients’ physical and psychological well-being. Tai-chi, a mind-body exercise rooted in Eastern health philosophy, emphasizes the motor coordination and relaxation. With these potential benefits, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) is planned to investigate the effects of Tai-chi intervention on the cognitive and motor deficits characteristic of patients with schizophrenia. Methods/design A 3-arm RCT with waitlist control design will be used in this study. One hundred and fifty three participants will be randomized into (i) Tai-chi, (ii) exercise or (iii) waitlist control groups. Participants in both the Tai-chi and exercise groups will receive 12-weeks of specific intervention, in addition to the standard medication and care received by the waitlist control group. The exercise group will serve as a comparison, to delineate any unique benefits of Tai-chi that are independent of moderate aerobic exercise. All three groups will undergo three assessment phases: (i) at baseline, (ii) at 12 weeks (post-intervention), and (iii) at 24 weeks (maintenance). All participants will be assessed in terms of symptom management, motor coordination, memory, daily living function, and stress levels based on self-perceived responses and a physiological marker. Discussion Based on a promising pilot study conducted prior to this RCT, subjects in the Tai-chi intervention group are expected to be protected against deterioration of motor coordination and interpersonal functioning. They are also expected to have better symptoms management and lower stress level than the other treatment groups.published_or_final_versio

Prevalence of co-occurrence of spouse battering and child abuse in Hong Kong

Conference theme: Living in Harmony - Creative Synergy in a Stresful Worl

Contemporary epidemiology of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a life course perspective

Conference Theme: integration and collaboration - the way forwardSymposium: Public Health Perspectives on Cancer Treatment and ControlThe 18th Hong Kong International Cancer Congress (HKICC 2011), Hong Kong, 3-5 November 2011

Home based app for oral muscle exercises (HOE) : a preliminary study

202308 bcchOther VersionOthersNakao Foundation GrantPublishe

A randomized controlled trial on the psychophysiological effects of physical exercise and Tai-chi in patients with chronic schizophrenia

The chronic and prevalent natures of schizophrenia result in long-term institutionalization for the patients. Conventional treatment of anti-psychotic medication on management of psychotic symptoms often brings on severe side effects and reduces patients' well-being. Tai-chi is a mind–body exercise that underscores motor coordination and relaxation. This 3-arm randomized controlled trial investigated the psychophysiological benefits of Tai-chi on 153 chronic schizophrenia patients, who were recruited from a mental health rehab complex and randomized into Tai-chi, exercise, or waitlist control groups. Both intervention groups received 12 weeks of specific intervention plus standard medication received by the controls. All participants completed psychiatric interviews, self-report questionnaires, performance tasks, and salivary cortisol measures at baseline, 3-month, and 6-month follow-up on psychotic symptoms, motor coordination, memory, daily living function, and stress. Multigroup latent growth modeling was used to evaluate the intervention effects on the outcomes. Compared to controls, the Tai-chi group showed significant decreases in motor deficits and increases in backward digit span and mean cortisol, while the exercise group displayed significant decreases in motor deficits, negative and depression symptoms and increases in forward digit span, daily living function, and mean cortisol. The two interventions did not show significantly different therapeutic effects, except for fewer symptom manifestations in the exercise group. These results suggest psychophysiological benefits for Tai-chi on chronic schizophrenia patients in terms of motor coordination and memory. Though both Tai-chi and exercise groups tended to manifest fewer symptoms than the control group, the exercise group showed better symptoms management than the Tai-chi group

Effects of Tai-chi on functioning, symptoms, and movement coordination on patients with schizophrenia

Meeting Theme: Advancing the National Prevention Strategy Through Behavioral Medicine InnovationPaper Session 10: Complementary, Integrative, and Alternative Medicine InterventionsBackground: Patients with schizophrenia require long-term care and management of psychotic symptoms via anti-psychotic medication, which may induce side effects and reduce patients' functioning. Tai-chi is an Eastern mind-body health exercise that emphasizes motor coordination. The present study aimed to examine the effects of Tai-chi intervention on the cognitive and motor deficits of patients with schizophrenia. Methods: A 3-arm randomized control trial was conducted to recruit 151 residential patients with schizophrenia (mean age = 54.0 years, SD = 8.5) who were randomized into Tai-chi, exercise, or waitlist control groups. Both the Tai-chi and exercise groups were given 12 weeks of specific intervention on top of the standard medication and care. All participants were assessed in terms of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Barthel’s Activities of Daily Living Index, and Neurological Evaluation Scale at baseline, at 12 weeks (post-intervention) and at 24 weeks (maintenance). Latent growth modeling was used to assess the intervention effects on daily living function, symptom management, and movement coordination. Results: Participants in the three groups did not significantly differ on demographics and baseline status of the outcome variables. Both the Tai-chi and exercise groups showed significant improvement (p .05) for Tai-chi on management of the psychotic symptoms. Discussions: These results suggest that Tai-chi psychotherapy may have some therapeutic effects in reducing the motor deficits and improving the daily functioning of residential patients with schizophrenia. Acknowledgement: This study was supported by the General Research Fund, Research Grants Council (GRF/HKU744912). The authors would like to acknowledge the staff of the Providence Garden of Rehab, Hong Kong, for their provision of support and coordination for the study