気功による心身の鍛錬ががんによる疲労を改善する(Mind-body practice of qigong can improve cancer-related fatigue)

2023-05-24 ブラウン大学

<関連情報>

• https://www.brown.edu/news/2023-05-24/qigong
• https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/15347354231162584

気功と運動・栄養トレーニングが女性がんサバイバーの疲労やその他のアウトカムに及ぼす影響を比較する無作為化対照パイロット試験 A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial Comparing Effects of Qigong and Exercise/Nutrition Training on Fatigue and Other Outcomes in Female Cancer Survivors

Chloe S. Zimmerman, Simona Temereanca, Dylan Daniels, Cooper Penner, Tariq Cannonier, Stephanie R. Jones, and Catherine Kerr
Integrative Cancer Therapies  Published:May 19, 2023
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1177/15347354231162584

Abstract

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a common and burdensome, often long-term side effect of cancer and its treatment. Many non-pharmacological treatments have been investigated as possible CRF therapies, including exercise, nutrition, health/psycho-education, and mind-body therapies. However, studies directly comparing the efficacy of these treatments in randomized controlled trials are lacking. To fill this gap, we conducted a parallel single blind randomized controlled pilot efficacy trial with women with CRF to directly compare the effects of Qigong (a form of mind-body intervention) (n = 11) to an intervention that combined strength and aerobic exercise, plant-based nutrition and health/psycho-education (n = 13) in a per protocol analysis. This design was chosen to determine the comparative efficacy of 2 non-pharmacologic interventions, with different physical demand intensities, in reducing the primary outcome measure of self-reported fatigue (FACIT “Additional Concerns” subscale). Both interventions showed a mean fatigue improvement of more than double the pre-established minimal clinically important difference of 3 (qigong: 7.068 ± 10.30, exercise/nutrition: 8.846 ± 12.001). Mixed effects ANOVA analysis of group × time interactions revealed a significant main effect of time, such that both groups significantly improved fatigue from pre- to post-treatment (F(1,22) = 11.898, P = .002, generalized eta squared effect size = 0.116) There was no significant difference between fatigue improvement between groups (independent samples t-test: P = .70 ), suggesting a potential equivalence or non-inferiority of interventions, which we could not definitively establish due to our small sample size. This study provides evidence from a small sample of n = 24 women with CRF that qigong improves fatigue similarly to exercise-nutrition courses. Qigong additionally significantly improved secondary measures of mood, emotion regulation, and stress, while exercise/nutrition significantly improved secondary measures of sleep/fatigue. These findings provide preliminary evidence for divergent mechanisms of fatigue improvement across interventions, with qigong providing a gentler and lower-intensity alternative to exercise/nutrition.