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. 2021 May 17;2021:6678398. doi: 10.1155/2021/6678398

Table 2.

The summary of randomized studies of acupuncture treatment on PCOS menstrual disorders.

Study ID Design Sample size (human) Interventions Treatment duration Outcomes Limitation
72 RCT 86 Treatment arm: Abdominal acupuncture Control arm: metformin 6 months 1. HOMA-IR were reduced significantly in the two groups (P < 0.05).2. Menstrual frequency, HDL-C, follicle-stimulating hormone increased in both groups (P < 0.05). Lack of sham methods
74 RCT 342 Treatment arm: true acupuncture + metformin placebo Control arm: sham acupuncture + metformin, sham acupuncture + metformin placebo 4 months Treatment arm: HOMA-IR decrease 25% Control arm: HOMA-IR decrease 5% The limitation of being a single center study without comparison groups
76 RCT 181 Treatment arm: acupuncture group Control arm: same physical therapists 10–13 weeks Treatment arm: effective rate, 62.5% (10 of 16) Control arm: effective rate, 41.6% (5 of 12)
77 RCT 60 Treatment arm: Tung's acupuncture group Control arm: CPA/EE group 12 weeks Treatment arm: LH/FSH ratio −0.66, P < 0.001 Control arm: not mentioned Clinical improvement of symptoms was not examined in this study
78 Nonrandomized, longitudinal, prospective study 60 Treatment arm: electro-acupuncture group Control arm: No intervention 3 months Treatment arm: effective rate, 37.5 % (9 of 24) Control arm: not mentioned The sample size is small
80 RCT 84 Treatment arm: low-frequency electro-acupuncture Control arm: no intervention 16 months Treatment arm: effective rate, 72.9% (43 of 59) Control arm: effective rate, 33.3% (5 of 15) Low success rate to confirm ovulation (data not shown)
81 RCT 84 Treatment arm: electro-acupuncture group; Physical exercise Control arm: no intervention 32 weeks Treatment arm: effective rate, 74.4% (32 of 43) Control arm: effective rate, 48.7% (20 of 41) The sample size is small
82 RCT 32 Treatment arm: acupuncture group Control arm: attention control 4 months Treatment arm: effective rate, 68.75 % (11 of 16) Control arm: effective rate, 37.5 % (6 of 16)
88 RCT 143 Treatment arm: true acupuncture Control arm: sham acupuncture 5 months Treatment arm: effective rate, 57.5% (23 of 40) Control arm: effective rate, 47.7 % (21 of 44)
109 RCT 70 Treatment arm: heat-sensitive moxibustion plus clomifene citrate capsules Control arm: oral clomifene citrate capsules 6 months Treatment arm: effective rate, 51.5% (18 of 35) Control arm: effective rate, 20 % (7 of 35) The sample size is small
111 RCT 84 Treatment arm: metformin and acupoint thread-embedding Control arm: oral metformin 3 months Treatment arm: effective rate, 87.5 % (35 of 40) Control arm: effective rate, 65.9 % (27 of 41) The sample size is small