Effects of non-sporting and sporting qigong on frailty and quality of life among breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy

Purpose: To explore the effects of non-sporting qigong (NSQG) and sporting qigong (SQG) on frailty and quality of life (QOL) of breast cancer patients during chemotherapy. Methods: A time series (three-group, pre-test-post-test) quasi-experimental design was applied in the study. Ninety-five participants were assigned to three groups: controls (n = 31), NSQG (n = 33), or SQG (n = 31). All patients performed the qigong interventions three times per week for at least 30 min per session. Data were collected in face-to-face interviews before chemotherapy and at 1 and 3 months after chemotherapy. Frailty was assessed using the Edmonton Frail Scale. The Medical Outcomes Survey Short-Form 36-Taiwanese version was used to evaluate the physical and mental component scores of QOL. Results: In the 1st and 3rd months after practicing qigong, patients in the SQG group had lower frailty scores than those in the control group. In the 3rd month after the intervention, patients in the NSQG group also had lower frailty scores and higher mental component scores for QOL than those in the control group. Patients with higher frailty scores had worse physical and mental component scores for QOL than those with lower frailty scores. The Sobel test showed that the frailty score mediated SQG and physical component scores for QOL. Conclusions: SQG and NSQG appeared to be beneficial for improving frailty and QOL among the breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy in the study. The results are preliminary and larger, well-constructed clinical studies are needed to verify the findings.