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Auricular Acupuncture as a Traditional Chinese Medicine Therapy for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Combined with Sleep Disorders
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Acupuncture for insomnia.

Daniel K L Cheuk1, Wing-Fai Yeung, K F Chung

  • 1Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China. cheukkld@hkucc.hku.hk.

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
|September 14, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Acupuncture shows potential benefits for insomnia, particularly acupressure and needle acupuncture, but evidence quality is low. More rigorous trials are needed to confirm acupuncture

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Area of Science:

  • Integrative Medicine
  • Sleep Science
  • Traditional Chinese Medicine

Background:

  • Insomnia is common, with conventional treatments not always effective.
  • Acupuncture is a popular alternative therapy for insomnia.
  • The scientific evidence supporting acupuncture for insomnia requires rigorous evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in treating insomnia.
  • To synthesize evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on acupuncture for insomnia.

Main Methods:

  • Searched multiple databases for RCTs comparing acupuncture to placebo, sham, or no treatment.
  • Included trials evaluating needle acupuncture, electroacupuncture, acupressure, and magnetic acupressure.
  • Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed risk of bias; meta-analyses were performed.

Main Results:

  • Thirty-three RCTs with 2293 participants were included.
  • Acupressure showed benefits in sleep quality compared to no treatment or sham.
  • Needle acupuncture, as an adjunct therapy, may offer marginal benefits; electroacupuncture did not.
  • All trials exhibited high risk of bias and heterogeneity; effect sizes were small with wide confidence intervals; publication bias was likely.

Conclusions:

  • Current evidence on acupuncture for insomnia is limited by poor methodological quality, heterogeneity, and potential publication bias.
  • The evidence is insufficient to definitively support or refute acupuncture's efficacy for insomnia.
  • Larger, high-quality clinical trials are necessary to establish the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for insomnia.