Mood States Among Different Levels Of Tai Chi Partitioners: A Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND: The relationship between the years of Tai Chi training experience and the resultant adaptations on mood states is largely unclear. PURPOSE: To compare the effectiveness of three TC proficiency levels (i.e., ≤ 1 year; 10-30 years; > 30 years) on mental health. METHODOLOGY: A total of 39 healthy TC partitioners completed the assessments, and they were allocated into three groups based on their years of practicing TC experience, including <1 year (n = 13), 10-30 years (n = 15), and > 30 years (n = 11). All TC partitioners were performed in Yang-style Tai Chi forms. The mood states were assessed by Profile Mood States Short Forms Questionnaire (POMSSF), which assesses six different mood states, including tension, depression, anger, vigor, fatigue, and confusion. RESULTS: One-way ANCOVA (covariates with age and gender) detected significant group effects on tension (p = 0.04), anger (p = 0.03), fatigue (p = 0.047), confusion (p = 0.008), and total POMSSF score (p = 0.02). The TC partitioners with 10-30 years of experience demonstrated a significantly lower score in total mood (p = 0.024), tension (p = 0.038), anger (p = 0.027), and confusion (p = 0.008) compared to those TC partitioners with less than one year of experience. Furthermore, TC partitioners with ≥30 years of experience demonstrated a trend of significantly lower scores in fatigue (p = 0.09) and confusion (p = 0.07) than those TC partitioners with ≤1 year of experience. CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrated that prolonged TC training exposure leads to better mood states.