Integrating acupuncture: are there positive health outcomes for women?

The key health issues for women tend to be primarily associated with the female reproductive system. There are also other gender priorities and consequences associated with ageing, which require effective interventions. Acupuncture is used worldwide and its evidence base is increasing on both mechanisms of action and its effectiveness in clinical care. Although acupuncture may be a valuable addition to healthcare for some conditions, it is rarely fully integrated into mainstream Western medicine clinical practice. Inadequate design and poor reporting of clinical trials have been barriers. Additionally systematic reviews and meta-analyses have tended to be equivocal and have reported that there is insufficient evidence for its recommendation. Future research should focus on ensuring good trial design including cost effectiveness and qualitative data and using a more pragmatic stance which reflects acupuncture in clinical practice. Undoubtedly, effective interventions are always needed to ensure the best health outcomes and address preventable deaths, morbidities, and disabilities among women but integration will be compromised unless underpinned by good evidence. 概要 在生理、心理、社会、性别和年龄等因素作用下,以生殖系统疾病为代表的多种疾病影响着女性健康,需要有效的治疗。针灸是中国传统医学的代表,在全球范围内得到了应用。虽然关于针灸循证医学的证据和疗效的报道越来越多,但是针灸还未融入西方主流医学。本文从当前女性健康状况和寻求辅助方法治疗女性疾病的必要性着手,阐述针灸在女性健康方面的作用、优势和机制,针灸在国外的发展现状和机遇,以及针灸实验研究的现状和存在的问题。本文还探讨了阻碍针灸发展的原因:临床实验的设计缺陷和参差不齐的报告质量是阻碍针灸发展的障碍;系统性综述和meta 分析结果模棱两可,没有足够的推荐理由。同时,本文从实验设计的严谨性包括成本效益和定性数据以及客观的评估疗效等方面,对未来的针灸研究提出了希冀,以期对广大临床医生和科研人员有所启示。 Similar content being viewed by others

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Rev., 9:CD007864. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD007864.pub2 Author information Authors and Affiliations Corresponding author Additional information ORCID: Nicola ROBINSON, http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5256-4527 感谢浙江大学医学院附属妇产科医院叶佳瑜提供中文概要 Introducing editorial board member Nicola ROBINSON, Professor of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Integrated Health at London South Bank University, UK, is one of the editorial board members of Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE B (Biomedicine & Biotechnology). Following her PhD in immunology at Manchester University, she studied acupuncture, becoming a registered acupuncturist in 1982 and was awarded Fellowship of the British Acupuncture Council in 2008. In 2004, Nicola was the recipient of a Winston Churchill Traveling Fellowship to visit China, to explore educational and research initiatives in TCM. She is Editor in Chief of the European Journal of Integrative Medicine (Elsevier) and Chair/Trustee of the Research Council for Complementary Medicine, UK, and sits on the advisory group of the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Nicola has written over 200 scientific articles in peer reviewed journals frequently presenting nationally and internationally. She has experience in health services research and has conducted research using TCM interventions (particularly acupuncture and Tai Chi) on a variety of topics: musculoskeletal disease, women’s health, mental health, diabetes, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and cystic fibrosis. She supervises PhD and postdoctoral students in UK and China and has developed various international research collaborations. Compliance with ethics guidelines Nicola ROBINSON declares that she has no conflict of interest. This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by the author. Rights and permissions About this article Cite this article Robinson, N. Integrating acupuncture: are there positive health outcomes for women?. J. Zhejiang Univ. Sci. B 18, 233–238 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1600260 Received: Accepted: Published: Issue date: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1600260 Key words - Acupuncture - Women’s health - Evidence-based medicine - Acupuncture mechanisms of action - Integration - Health outcomes