SynthesisFrontiers in medicine2025
Efficacy of acupuncture-related therapy for postmenopausal osteoporosis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis based on randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Frontiers in medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Evidence mapping and meta-analysis of traditional Chinese medicine for postmenopausal osteoporosis.Medicine · 2026Pooled it
- A bibliometric analysis of acupuncture applied to primary osteoporosis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- The Impact of Warm Needle Acupuncture Based on Traditional Chinese Medicine on Psychological Well-Being and Quality of Life in Osteoporotic Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Patient preference and adherence · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: To compare and analyze the clinical effects of acupuncture-related therapies for postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) and propose the optimal scheme, we utilized a network meta-analysis to evaluate the therapeutic effects of various commonly used acupuncture methods for PMOP. Methods: Randomized controlled trials of acupuncture-related therapies for PMOP were searched in eight databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Science and Technology Journal Database, China Biomedical Literature Database, and Wanfang database) from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2023. Our primary outcomes included overall clinical effectiveness rate, bone mineral density (BMD), and visual analog scale scores (VAS). The secondary outcome is adverse events. The entire process of literature screening and data analysis was conducted by 2 independent investigators. Results: A total of 30 studies with 2,342 participants provided data suitable for analysis. We compared six interventions: manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture, acupoint catgut embedding, moxibustion, acupoint application, and warm acupuncture. The results of the network meta-analysis revealed that, when compared to conventional Western medication (CWM), multiple acupuncture therapies had a greater impact on the overall clinical effectiveness rate. Electroacupuncture combined with CWM demonstrated superior clinical effectiveness and lumbar spine BMD improvement. Moxibustion with CWM ranked highest for femoral neck BMD, while warm acupuncture showed optimal effects on Ward's triangle and trochanter BMD. Acupoint catgut embedding provided the greatest pain reduction. The most prevalent minor adverse effects included hematoma, discomfort, and scorching. Conclusion: The results suggest that several acupuncture-related therapies, either alone or in conjunction with CWM, outperform CWM alone and may be regarded as an alternative or supplementary therapy to PMOP, though higher-quality trials are needed.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.