Tai Chi and Laughing Therapy for Improving Functions of Frail Older Adults (AA project)

Effect of Tai Chi and Laughing Therapy on Physical and Cognitive Function Among Frail Older Adults

The goals of this study are to examine the physical function, cognitive function, and quality of life among frail elderly residing in the community

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Frailty
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Tai Chi exercise; Behavioral: Laughing therapy

Detailed Description

This randomized clinical trial recruited 150 frail older adults, assigned to either the intervention groups (Tai Chi vs. Laughing therapy) or the wait-list control group. Tai Chi intervention provided to the Tai Chi group for 12 weeks with 12-week follow-up and pretest and posttest measures will be conducted. Laughing therapy intervention provided 10 weekly sessions for 12 weeks.

The primary outcome is the function variables (physical function of balance, flexibility, mobility; cognitive function of MOCA-K) The secondary outcome is quality of life measured by SF36, and healthy aging measured by healthy aging scale.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 150
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• South Korea
  • Daejeon, South Korea, 35015
    • Chungnam National University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 61 years to 81 years (Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• being frail (3 out of the following 5 criteria): feeling fatigued, difficulty climbing 10 stairs without help, difficulty walking 300m without help, more than 5 chronic illness, weight loss 5 % or more past 1-5 years
• living in the community
• able to participate in Tai Chi program twice a week

Exclusion Criteria:

• participated in any formal exercise program past 6 months
• not have transportation to come to the class

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: frail elderly-WC; control group received no intervention for 12 weeks, and will be provided the chance to participate in Tai Chi program if they choose.
Experimental: social interaction based intervention; Laughing therapy group received 10 sessions, weekly, 60 min per session led by a certified LT instructor	Behavioral: Laughing therapy; 10 sessions of laughing therapy by a certified instructor
Experimental: Exercise based intervention; Sun style Tai Chi program was provided twice per week, one hour per session for 12 weeks by a certified TC instructor	Behavioral: Tai Chi exercise; Sun-style Tai Chi (21 forms)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
physical function - balance	balance was assessed using a one-leg-standing balance test (OLST)	changes from pretest to 12 week posttest scores
physical function - flexibility	flexibility was assessed by the standard sit-and-reach test (SSRT)	changes from pretest to 12 week posttest scores
physical function - mobility	mobility was assessed by the Timed Up and Go test (TUG)	changes from pretest to 12 week posttest scores
cognitive function	MOCA-K (Korean version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment) was used with the maximum score of 30. (more than 23 is normal and less than 13 is dementia, more cognitively impaired)	changes from pretest to 12 week posttest scores

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Short Form health survey 36 (SF36)	Short Form health survey 13 which consists of eight dimensions: general health, physical functioning, role physical, body pain, vitality, social functioning, role emotional, and mental health. two summary scores for the physical and mental components of health-related QoL are calculated by using the weighted means for the eight domains. Higher scores indicate better health-related QoL.	changes from pretest to 12 week posttest scores

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Chungnam National University
• Collaborators: National Research Foundation of Korea
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Rhayun Song, PhD, Chungnam National University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 1, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 30, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): November 5, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 12, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 17, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): November 29, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 24, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 23, 2026
• Last Verified: July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: older adults; function; Tai Chi; frail
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Frailty; Therapeutics; Physical Therapy Modalities; Rehabilitation; Hydrotherapy; Aquatic Therapy
• Other Study ID Numbers: ChungnamNU4

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: unidentified data or study protocol can be shared at the completion of publication
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: December, 2025
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: researchers or reviewers with request
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No