SynthesisPloS one2015
Is Acupuncture Effective for Hypertension? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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
36 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 143 citations in OpenAlex.
- Acupuncture-based interventions for blood pressure control and cardiovascular risk-related outcomes in adults with hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Acupuncture against the metabolic risk factors for stroke: A systematic review of systematic reviews.Medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture for Essential Hypertension: A Meta-Analysis.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2018Pooled it
- Acupressure and hypnosis in arterial hypertension: a series of N-of-1 trials.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Trial
- Acupuncture Is Effective at Reducing the Risk of Stroke in Patients with Migraines: A Real-World, Large-Scale Cohort Study with 19-Years of Follow-Up.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Trial
- Acupuncture for patients with mild hypertension: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.) · 2019Trial
- Laser acupuncture protocol for essential systemic arterial hypertension: randomized clinical trial.Revista latino-americana de enfermagem · 2018Trial
- Trial
- A Clinical Study on the Efficacy of Acupuncture Treatment in Essential Hypertension: Protocol for Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine to Treat Fibromyalgia Symptoms. A Systematic Review.Journal of pain research · 2024Review
- Research trends of acupuncture therapy for hypertension over the past two decades: a bibliometric analysis.Cardiovascular diagnosis and therapy · 2023Review
- Efficacy of acupuncture for hypertension in the elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2023Review
- Sympathoinhibitory electroacupuncture (EA) interacts positively with anti-inflammatory EA alleviating blood pressure in hypertensive rats.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2023Article
- Efficacy of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Essential Hypertension: An Overview of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.Cardiovascular therapeutics · 2023Review
- Pulsed Laser Acupuncture in the Treatment of Pain and Heart Rate Variability in Fibromyalgia Patients: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial.Journal of lasers in medical sciences · 2022Article
- An Overview of Systematic Reviews: Acupuncture in the Treatment of Essential Hypertension.International journal of general medicine · 2022Review
- Endoscopic Partial Thyroidectomy with Acupuncture-Assisted Anesthesia in Futu Point (LI 18): An Innovative Case.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2021Article
- Non-pharmacological management of hypertension.Journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.) · 2021Review
- Article
- Proteomics analysis of the hypothalamus in spontaneously hypertensive rats treated with twirling reinforcing manipulation, twirling reducing manipulation or electroacupuncture.Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo determine the efficacy of acupuncture for hypertension.
methodSeven electronic databases were searched on April 13, 2014 to include eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Data were extracted and risk of bias was assessed. Subgroup analyses and meta- analysis were performed.
results23 RCTs involving 1788 patients were included. Most trials had an unclear risk of bias regarding allocation concealment, blinding, incomplete outcome data and selective reporting. Compared with sham acupuncture plus medication, a meta-analysis of 2 trials revealed that acupuncture as an adjunct to medication was more effective on systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure change magnitude (n=170, SBP: mean difference (MD)= -7.47,95% confidence intervals (CI):-10.43 to -4.51,I2 =0%; DBP: -4.22,-6.26 to -2.18, 0%).A subgroup analysis of 4 trials also showed acupuncture combined with medication was superior to medication on efficacy rate (n=230, odds ratio (OR)=4.19, 95%CI: 1.65 to 10.67, I2 =0%). By contrast, compared with medication, acupuncture alone showed no significant effect on SBP /DBP after intervention and efficacy rate in the subgroup analysis. (7 trials with 510 patients, SBP: MD=-0.56, 95%CI:-3.02 to 1.89,I2 =60%; DBP: -1.01,-2.26 to 0.24, 23%; efficacy rate: 10 trials with 963 patients, OR=1.14, 95% CI: 0.70 to 1.85, I2 =54%).Adverse events were inadequately reported in most RCTs.
conclusionOur review provided evidence of acupuncture as an adjunctive therapy to medication for treating hypertension, while the evidence for acupuncture alone lowing BP is insufficient. The safety of acupuncture is uncertain due to the inadequate reporting of it. However, the current evidence might not be sufficiently robust against methodological flaws and significant heterogeneity of the included RCTs. Larger high-quality trials are required.
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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 OpenQuestion graph.