Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41445003›Full record

ArticleJournal of pharmaceutical health care and sciences2025

Temporal trends in the prescription of traditional Japanese herbal (Kampo) medicines to pregnant women: analysis of an administrative hospital database in Japan.

Daisuke Kikuchi, Taku Obara, Shiro Hatakeyama, Risa Josaka, Misaki Tokunaga, Kouji Okada, Yuriko Murai

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Article in Journal of pharmaceutical health care and sciences, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Daisuke KikuchiDivision of Community Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 4-4-1 Komatsushima, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 981-8558, Japan. d.kikuchi@hosp.tohoku-mpu.ac.jp.
Taku ObaraDepartment of Molecular Epidemiology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1, Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Japan.
Shiro HatakeyamaDepartment of Pharmacy, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Hospital 1-12-1, Fukumuro, Miyagino-ku, Sendai, Japan.
Risa JosakaDepartment of Pharmacy, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Hospital 1-12-1, Fukumuro, Miyagino-ku, Sendai, Japan.
Misaki TokunagaDepartment of Pharmacy, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Hospital 1-12-1, Fukumuro, Miyagino-ku, Sendai, Japan.
Kouji OkadaDepartment of Pharmacy, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Hospital 1-12-1, Fukumuro, Miyagino-ku, Sendai, Japan.
Yuriko MuraiDivision of Community Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 4-4-1 Komatsushima, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 981-8558, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundJapanese traditional (Kampo) medicines are commonly prescribed in clinical practice, with increasing evidence supporting their use during pregnancy. The efficacy and safety of Kampo medicines during pregnancy have increasingly been studied; however, evidence in support of these medicines is inadequate. Thus, we conducted a temporal trend analysis of Kampo medicine prescriptions to determine the Kampo medicines for which further safety evidence is required.

methodsAdministrative data from pregnant Japanese women who visited acute-care diagnosis procedure combination hospitals between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2023, were used in this study. Therapeutic categories related to the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes D numbers 5100 and 5200 were defined as target Kampo medicines. Annual prescription trends were calculated as proportions. Temporal trends in the proportion of prescriptions for each Kampo medicine were assessed using the Cochran-Armitage trend test. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

resultsBetween 2014 and 2023, the proportion of Kampo medicine prescriptions increased significantly from 12.0% to 13.6% (p < 0.001). As of 2023, tokishakuyakusan (2.9%) was the most prescribed medication, followed by kakkonto (2.4%) and daikenchuto (2.0%). From 2014 to 2023, the proportions of tokishakuyakusan (3.3% to 2.9%) and kakkonto (2.4% to 2.4%) prescriptions showed no significant temporal changes (p = 0.07 and 0.36, respectively). In contrast, the proportion of daikenchuto prescriptions increased significantly from 0.8% to 2.0% (p < 0.001).

conclusionThe primary prescribed Kampo medicines were those with established safety evidence for use in pregnant women. The proportion of Kampo medicine prescriptions for pregnant women in Japan has increased over time, with tokishakuyakusan being the most prescribed during the study period.

Indexed as

Administrative dataHerbal medicineKampo medicinePregnant womenPrescription

Identifiers

PMID41445003
PMCPMC12729618

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