Eeffect of “Tai Chi Chuan” on Anxiety among elderly women

Anxiety is a common psychological disorder among the elderly, which could deteriorate social and cognitive functions and lead to disabilities and low quality of life in this population. Physical exercise is an important, inexpensive therapeutic approach to improving geriatric psychological disorders. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of tai chi chuan on the level of anxiety in elderly women. This clinical trial was conducted with a pretest-posttest design on 60 elderly women in the intervention and control groups in 2014. The subjects were the retired members of Tehran Petroleum Industry. The subjects were selected via stratified random sampling and allocated to two groups of intervention (n=29) and control (n=31). The intervention involved 24 sessions of tai chi chuan exercises for eight weeks (three times per week). Data were collected using demographic questionnaires and Spielberger’ state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI). Mean score of anxiety before the intervention was 41.79 in the intervention group and 39.54 in the control group, which indicated no significant difference (P=0.368). After the intervention, the mean score of anxiety in the intervention and control groups was 29.41 and 39.38, respectively. According to the results of ANCOVA, the intervention could significantly reduce anxiety in elderly women (P=0.001). According to the results, tai chi chuan exercises could decrease the level of anxiety in elderly women. Therefore, the implementation of this safe and economical method seems essential to enhancing the psychological health of the elderly.