ArticleBMJ open2022
Factors Associated with the Magnitude Of acUpuncture treatment effectS (FAMOUS): a meta-epidemiological study of acupuncture randomised controlled trials.
Article in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 9 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
9 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Efficacy and influencing factors of acupuncture in major depressive disorder: a systematic review and exploratory network meta-analysis.CNS spectrums · 2026Pooled it
- Clinical effect and contributing factors of acupuncture for knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and pairwise and exploratory network meta-analysis.BMJ evidence-based medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Factors and Their Impact on Treatment Effect of Acupuncture in Different Outcomes: A Meta-Regression of Acupuncture Randomized Controlled Trials.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Acupuncture Prescription Based on Thermal-Sensitized Acupoints for the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Understanding of Acupuncture Dose: Does Higher Intensity Mean Better?Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2025Article
- Concerns about the use of verum acupuncture points in sham acupuncture studies for pain conditions: Findings and insights from network meta-analysis.Integrative medicine research · 2025Article
- AI-Assisted Knee Infrared Imaging Based Acupuncture for Treating Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Study Protocol.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- Real-world data analysis on effectiveness of integrative therapies: A practical guide to study design and data analysis using healthcare databases.Integrative medicine research · 2023Article
- How to design high quality acupuncture trials-a consensus informed by evidence.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
17 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo identify factors and assess to what extent they impact the magnitude of the treatment effect of acupuncture therapies across therapeutic areas. DATA SOURCE: Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, VIP Database, and China Biology Medicine disc, between 2015 and 2019. STUDY SELECTION: The inclusion criteria were trials with a total number of randomised patients larger than 100, at least one patient-important outcome and one of two sets of comparisons. DATA ANALYSIS: The potential independent variables were identified by reviewing relevant literature and consulting with experts. We conducted meta-regression analyses with standardised mean difference (SMD) as effect estimate for the dependent variable. The analyses included univariable meta-regression and multivariable meta-regression using a three-level robust mixed model.
results1304 effect estimates from 584 acupuncture randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were analysed. The multivariable analyses contained 15 independent variables . In the multivariable analysis, the following produced larger treatment effects of large magnitude (>0.4): quality of life (difference of adjusted SMDs 0.51, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.77), or pain (0.48, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.69), or function (0.41, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.61) vs major events. The following produced larger treatment effects of moderate magnitude (0.2-0.4): single-centred vs multicentred RCTs (0.38, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.66); penetration acupuncture vs non-penetration types of acupuncture (0.34, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.53); non-pain symptoms vs major events (0.32, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.52). The following produced larger treatment effects of small magnitude (<0.2): high vs low frequency treatment sessions (0.19, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.35); pain vs non-pain symptoms (0.16, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.27); unreported vs reported funding (0.12, 95% CI 0 to 0.25).
conclusionPatients, clinicians and policy-makers should consider penetrating over non-penetrating acupuncture and more frequent treatment sessions when feasible and acceptable. When designing future acupuncture RCTs, trialists should consider factors that impact acupuncture treatment effects.
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.