SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Cardiovasc. Med.
Sec. Hypertension
Mind-body therapies intervention for essential hypertension: network meta-analysis based on the antihypertensive effect
Wanru Guo 1
Haojun Cui 1
Jun Chen 2
Hongfei Zhao 3
Zhen Wang 1
1. Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
2. Handan University, Handan, China
3. Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
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Abstract
Aim: Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and may lead to serious health outcomes such as stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and renal failure. Essential hypertension (EH) accounts for approximately 90% of all hypertension cases. In this study, we applied a network meta-analysis (NMA) to quantitatively synthesize evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and to compare and rank the effects of mind–body therapies (MBTs) on systolic and diastolic blood pressure in patients with EH, with the aim of providing evidence to support informed selection of MBT interventions. Methods:A comprehensive search strategy restricted to English-language RCTs was developed and applied across multiple biomedical databases, including PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CBM, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, and VIP, from database inception to March 2, 2025. （The literature found in the Chinese database did not meet the requirements.) Two authors independently screened studies, extracted data, and performed a frequentist network meta-analysis using STATA version 18.0 to compare and rank MBTs with respect to their effects on systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Additional analyses were conducted to evaluate network consistency and robustness of the findings. Results: A total of 15 RCTs involving 949 participants were included, comprising 18 intervention arms and 11 distinct MBT interventions. While most MBTs demonstrated some degree of blood pressure–lowering effect, SUCRA values indicated that Bhramari Pranayama (BP; SUCRA = 75.3%) and Specific Qigong (SQ; SUCRA = 73.7%) had the highest probabilities of ranking among the more effective interventions for reducing SBP. For DBP reduction, Sound Relax Meditation (SRM; SUCRA = 83.0%), Specific Qigong (SQ; SUCRA = 80.2%), and Bhramari Pranayama (BP; SUCRA = 78.1%) showed relatively favorable rankings. These rankings represent relative probabilities and should be interpreted in conjunction with effect sizes and the overall certainty of evidence.
Summary
Keywords
Diastolic blood pressure, essential hypertension, mind-body therapies intervention, Network meta-analysis, randomized controlled trial, systolic blood ressure
Received
31 July 2025
Accepted
26 January 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Guo, Cui, Chen, Zhao and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Zhen Wang
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