ReviewJAAD international2021
Complementary and alternative medicine treatments for common skin diseases: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in JAAD international, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Topical, light-based, and complementary interventions for acne: an overview of systematic reviews.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Minerals and Trace Elements: Key Protectors of Skin Health and Defenders against Skin Disorders.Current medicinal chemistry · 2025Review
- Exploring Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use for the Management of Acne Vulgaris Among University Students: Forms, Trends, and Information Sources.Journal of cosmetic dermatology · 2025Article
- Emerging Trends in the Treatment of Skin Disorders by Herbal Drugs: Traditional and Nanotechnological Approach.Pharmaceutics · 2024Review
- Influence of Moisturizers on Skin Microcirculation: An Assessment Study Using Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging.Journal of personalized medicine · 2023Article
- Beneficial Effects of Plant-Based Diets on Skin Health and Inflammatory Skin Diseases.Nutrients · 2023Review
- Review
- Fly Me to the Immune: Immunonutrition in Rheumatic Diseases.Mediterranean journal of rheumatology · 2023Article
- Ethnomedicinal Plants in Herbal Remedies Used for Treatment of Skin Diseases by Traditional Healers in Songkhla Province, Thailand.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Challenges in Healing Wound: Role of Complementary and Alternative Medicine.Frontiers in nutrition · 2021Review
- Evidence of Potential Natural Products for the Management of Hypertrophic Scars.Journal of evidence-based integrative medicineReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundComplementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments are growing in popularity as alternative treatments for common skin conditions.
objectivesTo perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the tolerability and treatment response to CAM treatments in acne, atopic dermatitis (AD), and psoriasis.
methodsPubMed/Medline and Embase databases were searched to identify eligible studies measuring the effects of CAM in acne, AD, and psoriasis. Effect size with 95% confidence interval (CI) was estimated using the random-effect model.
resultsThe search yielded 417 articles; 40 studies met the inclusion criteria. The quantitative results of CAM treatment showed a standard mean difference (SMD) of 3.78 (95% CI [-0.01, 7.57]) and 0.58 (95% CI [-6.99, 8.15]) in the acne total lesion count, a SMD of -0.70 (95% CI [-1.19, -0.21]) in the eczema area and severity index score and a SMD of 0.94 (95% CI [-0.83, 2.71]) in the scoring of atopic dermatitis score for AD, and a SMD of 3.04 (95% CI [-0.35, 6.43]) and 5.16 (95% CI [-0.52, 10.85]) in the Psoriasis Area Severity Index score for psoriasis. LIMITATIONS: Differences between the study designs, sample sizes, outcome measures, and treatment durations limit the generalizability of data.
conclusionsBased on our quantitative findings we conclude that there is insufficient evidence to support the efficacy and the recommendation of CAM for acne, AD, and psoriasis.
Indexed as
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.