Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (Feb 2024)
The Association between Acupuncture Therapy and the Risk of Disability Development in Dementia Patients: A Nationwide Cohort Study
Abstract
Chia-Yu Huang,1,2 Mei-Yao Wu,3– 5 Ming-Cheng Huang,2,3 Teng-Shun Yu,6,7 Peter Karl Mayer,3,8,* Hung-Rong Yen2,3,5,8,9,* 1Department of Family Medicine, Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Taichung, Taiwan; 2Graduate Institute of Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 3Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 4School of Post-Baccalaureate Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 5Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 6Management Office for Health Data, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 7College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 8International Master Program in Acupuncture, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 9Chinese Medicine Research Center, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Hung-Rong Yen, School of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, 91 Hsueh-Shih Road, North District, Taichung, 404, Taiwan, ext. 3001 Fax +886-4-22365141, Email [email protected]: Disability is the comorbidity of dementia for which there is no available preventive measure. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between acupuncture treatment and the risk of disability development in dementia patients.Patients and Methods: A cohort study was performed using a nationwide health database in Taiwan. The included dementia patients were divided into acupuncture and non-acupuncture cohorts based on whether they received acupuncture treatment during the follow-up period. The variables in the two cohorts were controlled by 1:1 propensity-score matching. The difference in disability development in dementia patients between the acupuncture and non-acupuncture cohorts was also analyzed. Subgroup analyses were performed using socioeconomic variables, comorbidities and anti-dementia agents (donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine and memantine) used for dementia treatment.Results: A total of 9,760 dementia patients met our inclusion criteria, and patients were divided into an equal number (n=2,422) of acupuncture and non-acupuncture groups, respectively, after 1:1 propensity-score matching. The dementia patients had a lower risk of disability development after acupuncture treatment than those who did not receive acupuncture treatment (adjusted hazard ratio 0.65, 95% confidence interval 0.60– 0.70, p < 0.001). The results were independent of basic variables or comorbidities in the two cohorts. Patients who did not use anti-dementia agents had a lower risk of developing disability after receiving acupuncture intervention than those who used anti-dementia agents.Conclusion: Our results revealed the relationship between acupuncture intervention and decreased risk of developing disability in dementia patients. The results are useful for dementia treatment, trial design and further planning of care programs.Keywords: acupuncture, disability, dementia, traditional Chinese medicine
