ReviewEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2018
A Literature Review of Women's Sex Hormone Changes by Acupuncture Treatment: Analysis of Human and Animal Studies.
Review in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 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
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effects of acupuncture on patients with premature ovarian insufficiency and polycystic ovary syndrome: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Clinical efficacy of acupuncture for diminished ovarian reserve: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Pooled it
- Effects and Mechanisms of Action of Acupuncture on Bone and Lipid Metabolism in a Rat Model of Postmenopausal Osteoporosis.Physiological research · 2026Article
- Acupuncture for premature ovarian insufficiency: a systemic neuroendocrine perspective.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Review
- Acupuncture as an adjunctive therapy in a patient with diminished ovarian reserve and recurrent IVF failure: a case report.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- The Mechanism by Which Estrogen Level Affects Knee Osteoarthritis Pain in Perimenopause and Non-Pharmacological Measures.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Postmenopausal women's usage of complementary and alternative medicine and its relationship to sexual function: A cross-sectional study in southeastern Iran.Health science reports · 2023Article
- Moxibustion as adjuvant therapy for preventing bone loss in postmenopausal women: protocol for a randomised controlled trial.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Ethanolamine plasmalogens derived from scallops stimulate both follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone secretion by bovine gonadotrophs.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- The Application of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Infertility.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2022Review
- Reduced gonadotroph stimulation by ethanolamine plasmalogens in old bovine brains.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Acupuncture Improving Early Sexual Development of Girls with Peripheral Precocious Puberty: A Prospective Cohort Study.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2020Article
- Effectiveness and Safety of Acupuncture for Perimenopausal Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2020Review
- A prioritization regimen of the acupuncture treatment for simple obesity: Protocol for systematic review and network meta-analysis.Medicine · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIt has been known that acupuncture treatment relieves gynecological disorders such as menopause, ovarian dysfunction, and dysmenorrhea. Sex hormones, including estrogen, progesterone, and gonadotropins, are related to the women disease. However, regulative effect of acupuncture on sex hormones has not been fully identified.
methodsAcupuncture articles including analysis of sex hormones were searched in electronic databases from inception to June 2018. The methodological quality was assessed using modified CAMRADES tool. A total of 23 articles were selected and analyzed.
resultsIn the results, overall studies showed that acupuncture increases estrogen, especially estradiol, progesterone, prolactin, and other hormones. Estradiol level was increased in most of studies except 3 studies which resulted in decreased level or not meaningful change. Two studies showed increase of FSH and LH whereas it was decreased in other studies. Other hormones were mostly increased by acupuncture.
conclusionThis study possibly indicates that acupuncture changes sex hormone in various gynecological conditions in women.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.