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Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience

Tai Chi linked to gains in mild cognitive impairment after menopause

Over 12 weeks, cognitive test scores improved by an estimated 4.95 points more with Tai Chi than with health education.

Paper by Yan Zheng, Lifen Hong, Lijuan Wu, Show 5 more authorsLianhua Yin
Figure 1. Flow chart of participant recruitment, randomization, and follow-up.
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Figure 1. Flow chart of participant recruitment, randomization, and follow-up.Flow chart of participant recruitment, randomization, and follow-up.Zheng et al.
Randomised trial in 40 peopleInterventions

12 weeks, registered ChiCTR2300068871

Paper

Forty postmenopausal women with mild cognitive impairment, meaning mild problems with memory or thinking, took part in an exploratory randomised controlled trial in Fuzhou, China. Researchers assigned them to 12 weeks of supervised Tai Chi or health education. Participants knew which group they were in.

The Tai Chi group showed greater improvement on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a test of thinking and memory. Improvements included delayed recall, attention and skills used to interpret visual information and plan tasks. Tai Chi was also associated with greater increases in blood flow through the brain, more favourable blood measures related to blood vessel function, and greater reductions in circulating markers related to Alzheimer’s disease. No intervention-related adverse events occurred.

Why it matters

Blood vessel dysfunction may contribute to cognitive vulnerability after menopause. The trial explored whether a non-drug approach could support both cognitive function and the brain’s blood supply.

Caveats

Participants knew their assigned group, and this exploratory trial included only 40 women at one centre. The findings do not establish lasting benefits or prevention of Alzheimer’s disease.

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