Trial reportBMJ open2019
Efficacy of a standardised acupuncture approach for women with bothersome menopausal symptoms: a pragmatic randomised study in primary care (the ACOM study).
Trial report in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02746497 (The Efficacy of ACupuncture On Menopausal Symptoms), which is not on this map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
The Efficacy of ACupuncture On Menopausal Symptoms (ACOM): A Randomized Controlled Trial
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluating the Effects of Symptom Monitoring on Menopausal Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in global women's health · 2021Pooled it
- Factors associated with a clinically relevant reduction in menopausal symptoms of a standardized acupuncture approach for women with bothersome menopausal symptoms.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2021Trial
- Menopause is a Whole-Person Developmental Transition: An Overview of Menopause Information and Acupuncture Therapy Approaches to Symptom Management.Medical acupuncture · 2025Article
- Effects and mechanisms of acupuncture on women related health.Frontiers of medicine · 2024Review
- Acupuncture in cancer care: a narrative review.Revista da Associacao Medica Brasileira (1992) · 2024Review
- Electroacupuncture for hot flashes in early postmenopause: A study protocol for a randomized sham-controlled trial.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2023Article
- Menopause symptoms in women and its relation with using complementary and alternative medicines: A survey in southeast Iran.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Investigation of the role of herbal medicine, acupressure, and acupuncture in the menopausal symptoms: An evidence-based systematic review study.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2020Review
- Role of Alternate Therapies to Improve the Quality of Life in Menopausal Women: A Systematic Review.Journal of mid-life healthReview
- Menopausal Hot Flashes: A Concise Review.Journal of mid-life healthReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo investigate the efficacy of a standardised brief acupuncture approach for women with moderate-to-severe menopausal symptoms.
designRandomised and controlled, with 1:1 allocation to the intervention group or the control group. The assessor and the statistician were blinded.
settingNine Danish primary care practices.
participants70 women with moderate-to-severe menopausal symptoms and nine general practitioners with accredited education in acupuncture.
interventionThe acupuncture style was western medical with a standardised approach in the predefined acupuncture points CV-3, CV-4, LR-8, SP-6 and SP-9. The intervention group received one treatment for five consecutive weeks. The control group was offered treatment after 6 weeks.
main outcome measuresOutcomes were the differences between the randomisation groups in changes to mean scores using the scales in the MenoScores Questionnaire, measured from baseline to week 6. The primary outcome was the hot flushes scale; the secondary outcomes were the other scales in the questionnaire. All analyses were based on intention-to-treat analysis.
results36 participants received the intervention, and 34 participants were in the control group. Four participants dropped out before week 6. The acupuncture intervention significantly decreased hot flushes: Δ -1.6 (95% CI [-2.3 to -0.8]; p<0.0001), day-and-night sweats: Δ -1.2 (95% CI [-2.0 to -0.4]; p=0.0056), general sweating: Δ -0.9(95% CI [-1.6 to -0.2]; p=0.0086), menopausal-specific sleeping problems: Δ -1.8 (95% CI [-2.7 to -1.0]; p<0.0001), emotional symptoms: Δ -3.4 (95% CI [-5.3 to -1.4]; p=0.0008), physical symptoms: Δ -1.7 (95% CI [-3 to -0.4]; p=0.010) and skin and hair symptoms: Δ -1.5 (95% CI [-2.5 to -0.6]; p=0.0021) compared with the control group at the 6-week follow-up. The pattern of decrease in hot flushes, emotional symptoms, skin and hair symptoms was already apparent 3 weeks into the study. Mild potential adverse effects were reported by four participants, but no severe adverse effects were reported.
conclusionsThe standardised and brief acupuncture treatment produced a fast and clinically relevant reduction in moderate-to-severe menopausal symptoms during the six-week intervention. No severe adverse effects were reported. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02746497; Results.
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