Therapeutic effects of acupuncture on blood glucose level among patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus: A randomized clinical trial

Abstract

Objective: To compare the therapeutic effects of acupuncture with sham acupuncture on levels of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) among patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) under treatment with metformin. Method: Eighty participants with T2DM were allocated randomly to treatment (n = 40) and control (n = 40) groups. In addition to metformin therapy, patients in the acupuncture group received acupoint stimulation with even manipulation at 15 acupoints, and needles were retained for 20 minutes. The sham-acupuncture group was treated with very small needles inserted at a very shallow depth (3–5 mm) without manipulation at non-acupoints 1 cm around the actual acupuncture points. Both groups were treated for 14 sessions during 10 weeks of treatment. The FPG level was measured before treatment as well as after 1, 2, 4, 6 and 12 weeks of treatment. The HbA1c percentage was assessed once before treatment and once 12 weeks after treatment initiation. Results: Levels of FPG and HbA1c in both groups were reduced significantly in comparison with baseline measurements (both P < .01). However, acupuncture treatment led to a significant reduction in the FPG level as compared with sham acupuncture after 4 weeks or 10 sessions of treatment [mean difference (MD) = 10.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.74 to 18.6, P = .019], after 6 weeks or 12 sessions of treatment (MD = 10.53, 95% CI = 2.22 to 18.83, P = .014) and after 12-week follow-up (MD = 8.8, 95% CI = 0.66 to 16.94, P = .034). Acupuncture treatment reduced the HbA1c level significantly in comparison with that in the sham-acupuncture group (MD = 0.27, 95%CI = 0.08 to 0.47, P = .007). Conclusion: Our study revealed that acupuncture (as a type of Chinese therapy) combined with metformin (as a conventional hypoglycemic medication) had a greater effect on glycemic control than that elicited in the placebo control group. Consequently, acupuncture could be used as adjuvant therapy among patients with T2DM. Keywords: Diabetes mellitus type 2, Acupuncture, Glycated hemoglobin