Effects of Tai Chi combined with dietary intervention on health-promoting lifestyle and metabolic and reproductive outcomes in female college students with polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomized controlled trial
Abstract
Introduction: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects 5-20% of adolescent females worldwide, yet scalable non-pharmacological interventions remain scarce. Tai Chi, a traditional Chinese mind-body exercise, may address the complex metabolic, reproductive, and psychosocial dimensions of PCOS, but robust randomized controlled trial evidence is lacking.
Methods: This 6-month, single-center, parallel-group randomized controlled trial (February-July 2025, Zhengzhou, China) enrolled 120 female college students (aged 18-22 years) meeting Rotterdam PCOS criteria, randomized 1:1 to dietary adjustment alone (control, n = 60) or dietary adjustment plus 24-style simplified Tai Chi (intervention, n = 60; 60 min, 5×/week). The primary outcome was the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Scale total score. Secondary outcomes included BMI, menstrual cycle length, and serum testosterone. Complete-case analysis (n = 86) used repeated-measures ANOVA, independent t-tests, and Cohen's d effect sizes. Intention-to-treat analysis with last observation carried forward (ITT-LOCF, n = 120) was performed as a sensitivity analysis.
Results: The combined intervention produced a large between-group difference in the primary outcome (total lifestyle score improvement: 15.49 points, 95% CI: 13.00-17.98, P 60 days; interaction P = 0.028-0.042).
Discussion: Tai Chi combined with dietary adjustment may serve as a useful adjunctive exercise modality within lifestyle-based management for young women with PCOS. The large…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 120 participants or records.
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