The Effects of Physical and Mind-Body Exercise on Anxiety Among Patients with Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Anxiety is highly prevalent among breast cancer patients and significantly impairs quality of life. Although both conventional physical exercise (PE) and mind-body exercise (MBE) are recommended, their relative efficacy remains unclear.This systematic review and meta-analysis compared the effects of PE and MBE on anxiety in breast cancer patients. PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials comparing structured PE or MBE with usual care. Effect sizes were pooled as Hedges’ g using a random-effects model.Twenty-four RCTs (N = 1,882) were included.