Table 1.
Characteristics of the included studies.
| Author | Sample size (E/C) | Mean age (E/C, year) | Course of PCOS (E/C, year) | Type and dose of acupuncture and moxibustion | Cointerventions | Course of treatment | Baseline LH (E/C, mIU/mL) | Baseline FSH (E/C, mIU/mL) | Baseline TT (E/C, ng/dL) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chen 2020 | 30/30 | 29.55/29.47 | 3.10/3.06 | MA + WNM; 30 min, q.o.d. | CHM | 3 months | NR | NR | NR |
| Cui 2015 | 33/33 | 33.45/31.38 | 1.43/1.54∗ | MA + suspended moxibustion; 25 min/session, q.w. | CHM | 6 cycles | 9.44/9.42 | 5.42/5.37 | 51.3/57.6 |
| Gao 2019a | 30/30 | 28.1/27.6 | 3.9/3.6 | MA + WNM; 30 min/session, q.o.d. | EEC + HCG | 3 cycles | 15.97/16.24 | 4.83/4.79 | 49.6/48.7 |
| Gao 2019b | 30/30 | 28.3/27.2 | 4.2/3.5 | MA + WNM; 30 min/session, q.o.d. | EEC + HCG + CHM | 3 cycles | 16.09/15.45 | 4.97/4.94 | 50.1/47.6 |
| He 2020 | 35/35 | 31.97/32.05 | 3.48/3.52 | EA 20 min/session + WNM 30 min/session | Clomiphene | NR | 37.53/37.13 | 9.98/9.83 | 100.0/101.4 |
| Jiang 2020 | 44/44 | 31.22/30.12 | NR | MA + suspended moxibustion; 20 min/session, q.o.d. | EEC + letrozole + HCG | NR | 14.11/13.45 | 5.99/6.15 | 35.2/34.9 |
| Li 2019 | 50/50 | 27.78/28.03 | 2.97/2.56 | MA + WNM; 20 min/session, q.o.d. | Clomiphene | 3 cycles | 16.12/16.08 | 6.82/6.87 | NR |
| Li 2018 | 30/30 | 25.70/26.00 | 3.91/4.30 | MA 30 min/session + moxibustion box 15–30 min/session; t.i.w. | CHM | 6 cycles | 14.15/14.25 | 3.86/3.45 | 79/79.1 |
| Lin 2021 | 35/35 | 27.74/26.71 | 3.13/3.18 | EA + ginger-separated moxibustion; 30 min/session, q.o.d. | Letrozole | 3 cycles | NR | NR | NR |
| Lv 2016 | 100/100 | 32.00/33.00 | NR | EA + WNM; dose was not reported | Clomiphene + HCG | NR | 14.19/13.96 | 5.85/6.13 | 33.1/35.2 |
| Peng 2020 | 34/34 | 28.42/28.31 | NR | MA + WNM; 30 min/session | Clomiphene + HCG | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Qiao 2012 | 30/30 | 20–25 y: 7/8 | 2–3 y: 17/19∗ | MA + suspended moxibustion; 30 min/session, q.d. | CHM | 6 cycles | 14.55/14.46 | 7.09/7.04 | 81.1/80.9 |
| 26–30 y: 16/16 | 3–4 y: 8/9 | ||||||||
| 31–35 y: 7/6 | >4 y: 4/3 | ||||||||
| Qiu 2019 | 38/37 | 29.07/28.84 | 4.61/4.42∗ | MA + WNM; 30 min/session, q.o.d. | Letrozole + HMG | 3 cycles | 8.61/8.32 | 6.35/6.29 | 38.3/36.8 |
| Shangguan 2017 | 35/35 | NR | NR | EA, 15–25 min/session + WNM, 2 cones/session; q.o.d. | Clomiphene | 9 months | 37.35/35.31 | 8.89/9.92 | 107.8/111.0 |
| Wang 2021 | 31/31 | 28.40/28.52 | 3.43/3.37 | MA, 30 min/session + thunder-fire moxibustion, 1 cone/session; q.o.d. | Clomiphene + progesterone for amenorrhea | 3 months | 11.74/11.71 | 5.69/5.65 | 62.8/62.2 |
| Wang 2020 | 30/30 | 30.36/29.81 | NR | MA + WNM; 20 min/session, 10 sessions per month | CHM | 3 cycles | 31.91/34.85 | 8.70/9.01 | 102.9/106.9 |
| Xie 2019 | 50/50 | 25.34/25.32 | NR | MA 30 min/session + WNM 2 cone/session | Clomiphene + progesterone# | 3 cycles | 14.07/13.98 | 5.89/6.14 | 35.7/35.4 |
| Xing 2020 | 36/36 | 34.85/34.24 | 4.64/4.94∗ | EA + WNM; 30 min/session, t.i.w. | Triptorelin + rhFSH + HCG + IVF | 3 cycles | 14.97/14.90 | 5.61/5.44 | 40.1/40.6 |
| Xu C 2019 | 30/30 | 28.87/29.571 | 2.53/2.83 | MA + WNM; 40 min/session, q.o.d. | Clomiphene + progesterone# | 3 cycles | 15.6/14.73 | 5.83/5.77 | 91.6/91.9 |
| Xu 2020 | 41/41 | 27.73/28.16 | 4.01/3.71∗ | MA + WNM; 30 min/session, q.o.d. | Clomiphene + progesterone# | 9 months | 25.6/25.7 | 9.4/9.1 | 62.8/63.2 |
| Xu J 2019 | 30/30 | 27.83/26.17 | 1.94/1.97 | MA + WNM; 30 min/session, q.o.d. | Lifestyle intervention | 3 cycles | 13.52/13.53 | 7.95/7.53 | 23.9/25.4 |
| Yue 2019 | 30/30 | 25.17/26.23 | 2.97/3.20 | MA + moxibustion box; 30 min/session, q.o.d. | Letrozole + CHM | 3 cycles | 14.76/14.54 | 5.52/5.76 | 66.6/66.0 |
| Zheng 2019 | 30/30 | 28.50/28.63 | NR | MA + WNM, 3 cones/session, q.d. | CHM | 3 cycles | NR | NR | NR |
| Zhong H 2019 | 30/30 | 26.77/26.57 | 3.64/3.21 | MA + moxibustion box; 30 min/session, b.i.w. | EEC | 3 months | 14.48/14.60 | 8.28/8.11 | 73.9/72.6 |
| Zhong Q 2019 | 63/63 | 33 ± 5/33 ± 5 | 1.50/1.53∗ | MA 25 min/session, q.w. + suspended moxibustion 15 min/session, q.d. | CHM | 6 cycles | 9.43/9.46 | 5.40/5.41 | 55.3/55.9 |
| Zhu 2015 | 42/40 | 28.86/29.02 | 4.55/4.33∗ | MA + suspended moxibustion, 20 min/session, q.o.d. | EEC + letrozole + HMG | 3 cycles | 8.50/8.21 | 6.24/6.31 | 39.5/37.9 |
C/E = experimental group/control group; CHM = Chinese herbal medicine; DEE = desogestrel—ethinyl oestradiol; EA = electroacupuncture; EEC = ethinyl oestradiol—cyproterone; FSH = follicle-stimulating hormone; HCG = human chorionic gonadotropin; HMG = human menopausal gonadotropin; IVF = in vitro fertilization; LH = luteinizing hormone; MA = manual acupuncture; NR = not reported; PCOS = polycystic ovary syndrome; rhFSH = recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone; TT = total testosterone; WNM = needle warming moxibustion; q.d. = once a day; q.o.d. = once every other day; t.i.w. = three times a week; b.i.w. = twice a week; q.w. = once a week. ∗Data are the course of infertility; #progesterone was only for patients with amenorrhea.