The results suggest that Tai Chi could be an effective alternative and /or complementary approach to existing therapies for people with fatigue .
There is still absence of adverse events data to evaluate the safety of Tai Chi .
BACKGROUND Fatigue is not only a familiar symptom in our daily lives , but also a common ailment that affects all of our bodily systems .
Several r and omized controlled trials ( RCTs ) have proven Tai Chi to be beneficial for patients suffering from fatigue , however conclusive evidence is still lacking .
Prevalence of chronic fatigue among Chinese adults in Hong Kong: a population-based study.
BACKGROUND Epidemiologic data is available on chronic fatigue for Western , but not for Chinese population s. The aims of the present study were to determine the prevalence of chronic fatigue in the general population of Hong Kong , compare health and lifestyle characteristics of non-chronic fatigue and chronic fatigue cases , and identify risk factors for chronic fatigue . METHODS We performed telephone interviews on 5001 r and omly selected Chinese adults aged ≥18 years administering the Chinese version of Chronic Fatigue Scale ( ChCFS ) , the  Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale ( HADS ) , and quality of life ( QoL ) indexed by Medical Outcomes Study 12-item Short-Form Health Survey ( SF12 ) . Lifestyle , and sociodemographic data were also collected . Chronic fatigue was defined according to Fukuda et al. 's ( 1994 ) criteria and case criterion was a ChCFS total scores ≥4 . RESULTS The weighted prevalence of chronic fatigue was 10.7 % , which was equivalent to 0.6 million adults in Hong Kong . Higher prevalence rates were found in females , older age groups , and low socioeconomic status . Fully adjusted stepwise regression analyses identified older age , retirees , housewife , existing long-term health problems , higher HADS scores , poor QoL , and low self-perceived health to be significantly associated with increased risk of chronic fatigue , whereas regular exercise was associated with decreased risk of chronic fatigue ( all p<0.05 ) . LIMITATIONS The cross-sectional design did not allow determination of the time course and causal relationship between chronic fatigue and associated factors . CONCLUSIONS Our data evidence d that chronic fatigue is common in the general population of Hong Kong , and the prevalence increased with age and was higher in the women and lower socioeconomic population
The results suggest that Tai Chi could be an effective alternative and /or complementary approach to existing therapies for people with fatigue .
There is still absence of adverse events data to evaluate the safety of Tai Chi .
BACKGROUND Fatigue is not only a familiar symptom in our daily lives , but also a common ailment that affects all of our bodily systems .
Several r and omized controlled trials ( RCTs ) have proven Tai Chi to be beneficial for patients suffering from fatigue , however conclusive evidence is still lacking .