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Updated: Mar 24, 2026
Author Spotlight: Investigating the Mechanisms and Inducing Models of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Published on: July 5, 2024
Acupuncture for treating polycystic ovary syndrome: guidance for future randomized controlled trials
Yan Wu1, Nicola Robinson2, Paul J Hardiman3
1Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China.
Objective:
To provide guidance for future randomized controlled trials (RCTs) based on a review concerning acupuncture for treating polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Methods:
A comprehensive literature search was conducted in October 2015 using MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCISEARCH, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, the Cochrane Menstrual Disorders and Subfertility Group trials register, Allied and Complementary Medicine (AMED), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and the Wanfang databases. RCTs comparing either acupuncture with no/sham/pharmacological intervention or a combination of acupuncture and conventional therapy with conventional therapy in the treatment of PCOS were included in this review. A quality evaluation was performed for each of the included studies.
Results:
Thirty-one RCTs were included in the review and were divided into four categories according to the type of intervention used in the comparator or control group. Menstrual frequency, hormones, anthropometrics, insulin sensitivity, blood lipids, and fertility were used as the main measurements to assess the effects of acupuncture on the patients with PCOS. Thirty trials, except for one, showed an improvement in at least one of the indicators of PCOS after acupuncture treatment. However, normalizing the methodological and reporting format remains an issue.
Conclusions:
Based upon this review of current clinical trials concerning acupuncture for treating PCOS, we provide guidelines for better clinical trial design in the future.
