Systematic review, 2011
Does acupuncture help PMS symptoms?
Acupuncture seems to help more than placebo or doing nothing, but the studies had quality problems so we cannot be very confident.
What they did
Searched 10 electronic databases through June 2009 for randomised controlled trials comparing acupuncture to sham acupuncture, medications, or no treatment for women with PMS. Included 10 RCTs in the review.
What they found
Acupuncture was superior to all controls (8 trials, risk ratio 1.55). Acupuncture was better than different doses of medications (4 trials, risk ratio 1.49). Acupuncture significantly improved symptoms compared with sham acupuncture (2 trials, risk ratio 5.99). No harmful effects were reported.
What it means for you
Acupuncture might help PMS symptoms more than nothing or fake acupuncture. However, most studies had problems with how they were done, including issues with random sequence generation, allocation concealment and blinding. More rigorous research is needed.
10
Randomised controlled trials included
1.55
Risk ratio vs all controls
5.99
Risk ratio vs sham acupuncture
About the study
- Original title
- Acupuncture for premenstrual syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
- Authors
- Kim SY, Park HJ, Lee H et al.
- Journal
- BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
- Year
- 2011
- Study design
- Systematic review
- What was tested
- Acupuncture
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0528.2011.02994.x
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