Meta AnalysisID 6926

针刺治疗围绝经期症状的有效性：系统评价概述

CRD42023483812

Is acupuncture an effective intervention for symptoms commonly experienced by women during the menopause?

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Meta Analysis Id: 6926
Evidence Id: 15484
Core Evidence Id: 15484
Source Meta Analysis Id: 6911
Herb2 Meta Analysis Id: HBMA006911
Crd Id: CRD42023483812
Title: The effectiveness of Acupuncture for menopausal symptoms: an overview of systematic reviews.
Review Question: Is acupuncture an effective intervention for symptoms commonly experienced by women during the menopause?
Study Type Included: The studies to be included in this overview are systematic reviews with a purpose of synthesizing existing research which explores whether acupuncture is a beneficial intervention for the different symptoms experienced by women during the menopause. This will include narrative synthesis and/or meta- analysis. Even though there is a previously conducted umbrella review exploring the potential of managing menopausal symptoms with acupuncture (Befus et al., 2018), this umbrella review differs from the previously conducted overview of reviews since it will attempt to explore the efficacy of acupuncture for reducing other symptoms which are prevalent during the menopause including hot flushes, mood changes, osteoporosis and urinary urgency/incontinence (Santoro et al., 2015).
Condition Being Studied: Approximately 85% of women experience symptoms commonly associated during the perimenopause and menopause including vasomotor, genitourinary, mood, cognition, sleep, bone density alterations and weight gain (Sussman et al., 2015 ; Santoro et al., 2021 ; Proietto, 2017). One cause is the hormonal changes experienced during this period of the female ageing process (Hirschberg, 2012). The ‘gold standard’ treatment for menopausal symptoms, especially vasomotor symptoms, is hormone therapy where oestrogen is the main active component. However, even though the risk-benefit ratio remains favourable, the use of this hormone replacement therapy has been associated with an increased risk of stroke (Palacios et al., 2019). Acupuncture, has grown rapidly in popularity over the past 40 years and is one of the most commonly used complementary therapies (Hao & Mittelman, 2014). This is a treatment considered to be very safe with minor adverse reactions including local bleeding and pain at the location of the needle insertion (Bäumler et al., 2021). This overview of reviews will attempt to collect and analyse the existing evidence of the effectiveness of acupuncture for treating common symptoms associated with the menopause including: vasomotor symptoms, osteoporosis, urinary urgency/incontinence and mood changes (namely anxiety and depression) (Santoro et al., 2015).
Participant: Women between the ages of 40 – 65 who are not pregnant and without any comorbidities such as (but not limited to) cancer, ovarian failure and medically induced menopause.
Animal
Human Disease Modelled
Intervention: Any type of acupuncture intervention will be used. The most commonly known include: • Manual acupuncture - stimulating acupuncture points using a needle that penetrates the skin and is manually manipulated (Birch and Felt, 1999). • Auricular acupuncture – stimulating acupoints on the ear using acupuncture needles that penetrate the skin and are manually manipulated (Oleson, 2013). • Acupressure – part of Chinese massage therapy (Tuina) (Pritchard, 2015). Either hand manipulations and/or using different probes (WebMD, 2019) to stimulate acupoints. • Electro-acupuncture – using gentle electrical pulses to stimulate acupoints through inserted needles (Mayor, 2001). • Laser acupuncture – using laser pens to stimulate acupoints. • Moxibustion – stimulating acupoints through the burning of mugwort (Birch and Ida, 1998). • Intradermal needling – Creating an elongated and enhanced effect using needles placed intradermally for a longer period of time (usually a number of hours/days) (Birch and Ida, 1998).
Comparator Control: Control intervention may involve current best-practice, ‘gold standard’ biomedical treatments, other alternative medicine interventions, no treatment, and ‘sham’ (placebo) acupuncture.
Main Outcome: Outcomes explored will include the changes in symptom severity and frequency. These will differ depending on the focus of the systematic reviews included in this overview. This will include any alterations in the above-mentioned symptoms including vasomotor symptoms, mood changes, osteoporosis urinary urgency/incontinence. These may be measured using questionnaires and diaries for recording the frequency and severity of symptoms as well as pads (in case of urinary urgence/incontinence. Measures of effect odds ratios, mean differences.
Outcome Measure
Additional Outcome: Not applicable
Study Method: Intervention, Meta-analysis, Narrative synthesis, Review of reviews, Systematic review
Keyword: MeSH headings have not been applied to this record
Contact: Moral Tamir [email protected]
Organisational Affiliation: Lancaster University
Funding Source: This project is not funded.
Other Selection Criteria
Final Publication
Same Topic Review
Published Protocol
Review Type
Language: English
Country: Israel
Review Stage: Review Ongoing
First Submission Date: 2023-11-17
Registration Date: 2023-11-28
Anticipated Start Date: 2023-11-23
Anticipated Completion Date: 2024-01-23
Title Cn: 针刺治疗围绝经期症状的有效性：系统评价概述
Title En: The effectiveness of Acupuncture for menopausal symptoms: an overview of systematic reviews.
Bilingual Status: complete