Evidence mapPaperPMID 41640680Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in pharmacology2025

Traditional herbal medicine for obesity-related polycystic ovary syndrome: a meta-analysis and data mining study.

Lei Tang, Haijuan Liu, Ying Pang, Guohua Wang, Zheng Wang, Tianyao Lv

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Lei Tang *Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Haijuan Liu *Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.
Ying Pang *Beijing Nuclear Industry Hospital, Beijing, China.
Guohua WangBeijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Zheng WangBeijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Tianyao LvSanlitun Community Health Service Center, Beijing, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: To systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy of traditional herbal medicine (THM) as an adjunctive therapy for obesity-related polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and to identify core botanical drug combinations using evidence synthesis and data mining approaches. Methods: We searched six databases from inception to March 2025 for randomized controlled trials Meta-analyses were performed using Stata 15.1. Association rule mining was performed with the Results: Seventy-two RCTs involving 5,308 patients were included. Meta-analysis indicated that THM combined with conventional therapy significantly improved the clinical efficacy rate (OR = 3.73, 95% CI: 3.12 to 4.46, p < 0.001; low certainty) and clinical pregnancy rate (OR = 3.03, 95% CI: 2.05 to 4.48, p < 0.001; moderate certainty). Significant improvements were also observed in Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) (SMD = -0.81, 95% CI: -1.02 to -0.60, p < 0.001; very low certainty), body mass index (BMI) (SMD = -0.95, 95% CI: -1.09 to -0.81, p < 0.001; low certainty), total testosterone (TT) (SMD = -0.90, 95% CI: -1.10 to -0.69, p < 0.001; very low certainty), and the luteinizing hormone/follicle-stimulating hormone (LH/FSH) ratio (SMD = -0.88, 95% CI: -1.05 to -0.70, p < 0.001; low certainty). Sensitivity analyses confirmed robustness, but substantial heterogeneity (I Conclusion: THM demonstrated superiority over conventional treatment alone in improving key clinical, metabolic, and reproductive outcomes in obesity-related PCOS. Association rule analysis revealed a core botanical drug combination as promising candidates for future research. However, more rigorously designed, large-scale RCTs are required. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251111078, identifier CRD420251111078.

Indexed as

clinical efficacyevidence-basedmedicineobesitypolycystic ovary syndrometraditional herbal medicine

Identifiers

PMID41640680
PMCPMC12864513

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

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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.