Acupuncture RCT Meta-Analysis for Insomnia Sleep and Endocrine Outcomes

Yun Hu's systematic review and meta-analysis synthesizes data from 12 randomized controlled trials on acupuncture for insomnia. The study, published on figshare in 2026, compares acupuncture interventions against sham acupuncture or medication controls. It analyzes outcomes including sleep scale scores, polysomnographic measures, and endocrine hormone levels like melatonin and cortisol.

Use Cases

• Analyze the mean difference (MD) and confidence intervals for serum melatonin levels between acupuncture and control groups.
• Compare Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score reductions across different acupuncture treatment intensities or clinical subtypes.
• Evaluate heterogeneity (I-squared statistic) in meta-analysis results for outcomes like sleep efficiency or Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) scores.
• Investigate subgroup patterns for electroacupuncture's effect on salivary cortisol levels versus other intervention types.

Strengths

• Aggregates data from 12 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) identified through a systematic search of 6 major databases.
• Reports specific quantitative results, including mean differences, 95% confidence intervals, and I-squared statistics for multiple sleep and endocrine outcomes.
• Includes a PROSPERO registration number (CRD420251125885), indicating adherence to systematic review protocols.

Limitations

• The dataset is a 3.6 MB DOCX document containing narrative text and tables, not a structured, machine-readable data file, limiting computational analysis.
• Sample size is limited to 12 included RCTs, which may constrain the statistical power and generalizability of the meta-analytic findings.
• The underlying individual patient data from the original trials is not available, restricting analysis to the published aggregate summary statistics.

Provenance

Source

figshare, authored by Yun Hu.

Collection Method

Systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs sourced from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CNKI, and Wanfang databases.

Time Range

RCTs published until August 13, 2025, were included.

Freshness

Last updated on the platform in April 2026, with literature search conducted up to August 2025.

Geography

Studies were sourced from international and Chinese databases (CNKI, Wanfang), but specific geographic coverage of the trials is not detailed.