Subgroup analyses of the effect of Tai Chi for preventing falls in older adults
| Number of fallers | Rate of falls | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subgroup | Studies | Participants | RR (95% CI) | Studies | Falls | IRR (95% CI) |
| The style of Tai Chi | ||||||
| Yang style Tai Chi | 713–15 24 26 28 35 | 943 | 0.61 (0.46 to 0.80) | 813–15 22 24 26 28 35 | 528 | 0.54 (0.42 to 0.70) |
| Sun style Tai Chi | 323 30 33 | 1777 | 0.88 (0.80, 0.98) | 323 30 33 | 1684 | 0.91 (0.75 to 1.11) |
| Test for subgroup differences: p=0.01 | Test for subgroup differences: p=0.001 | |||||
| Tai Chi frequency | ||||||
| Once a week | 312 30 33 | 1316 | 0.95 (0.84 to 1.07) | 412 22 30 33 | 1294 | 0.84 (0.63 to 1.13) |
| Twice a week | 623 27 28 30 32 34 | 1638 | 0.83 (0.76 to 0.92) | 623 27 28 30 32 34 | 1641 | 0.73 (0.57 to 0.95) |
| Three times a week | 613–15 24 25 29 | 584 | 0.62 (0.51 to 0.75) | 413–15 24 | 454 | 0,48 (0.36 to 0.64) |
| >Three times a week | 226 35 | 232 | 0.36 (0.13 to 0.98) | 226 35 | 81 | 0.38 (0.18 to 0.65) |
| Test for subgroup differences: p=0.001 | Test for subgroup differences: p=0.07 | |||||
| Total exercise time | ||||||
| ≤30 hours | 524 28 30 32 33 | 1586 | 0.85 (0.73 to 0.99) | 524 28 30 32 33 | 1498 | 0.84 (0.67 to 1.07) |
| >30 and ≤60 hours | 612 25 26 28 30 32 | 984 | 0.81 (0.65 to 1.00) | 512 24 28 30 32 | 1138 | 0.58 (0.35 to 0.94) |
| >60 hours | 414 23 34 35 | 1007 | 0.80 (0.67 to 0.94) | 514 22 23 34 35 | 437 | 0.64 (0.49, to0.84) |
| Test for subgroup differences: p=0.82 | Test for subgroup differences: p=0.20 | |||||
| Time of follow-up | ||||||
| >1 and ≤3 months | 415 24 26 33 | 926 | 0.63 (0.44 to 0.89) | 515 24 26 27 33 | 478 | 0.46 (0.30 to 0.69) |
| >3 and ≤6 months | 414 23 27 33 | 1411 | 0.79 (0.65 to 0.94) | 414 23 27 33 | 633 | 0.67 (0.52 to 0.86) |
| >6 and ≤12 months | 1012 13 23 25 28–30 32 34 35 | 2526 | 0.85 (0.78 to 0.93) | 812 13 23 28 30 32 34 35 | 2633 | 0.85 (0.73 to 0.98) |
| Test for subgroup differences: p=0.23 | Test for subgroup differences: p=0.01 | |||||
| Falling risk at enrolment | ||||||
| High | 424 28 30 32 | 1122 | 0.83 (0.70 to 0.98) | 424 28 30 32 | 1934 | 0.90 (0.75 to 1.07) |
| Low | 1212–15 23 25–27 29 33–35 | 2417 | 0.78 (0.68 to 0.89) | 1112–15 23 26 27 29 33–35 | 1536 | 0.62 (0.50 to 0.76) |
| Test for subgroup differences: p=0.57 | Test for subgroup differences: p=0.02 | |||||
IRR, incidence rate ratio; RR, risk ratio.