Review of systematic reviews and Meta-analyses investigating Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

OBJECTIVETo conduct a review of the systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODSWe searched PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), Wanfang, and other databases from database inception to May 2014 for systematic reviews and meta-analyses on TCM treatment of T2DM. Manuscripts were read by two investigators if they met the inclusion criteria, and data were extracted. A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) was used to classify research quality, and the evidence quality was graded by the Grade of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system. RESULTSEighteen systematic reviews and meta-analyses were considered. Fifteen analyzed the efficacy of Chinese herbal medicines, and three investigated the efficacy of acupuncture. AMSTAR evaluation ranged from 3–10, and re-evaluation of the main results implied that treatment of T2DM with TCM has certain advantages when compared with conventional Western medicine. However, the evidence quality was generally low. CONCLUSIONSThis work shows favorable evidence for the clinical treatment of TCM on T2DM. However, it is recommended that evidence-based decisions are made based on clinical trials because of the GRADE scores of the studies. To achieve higher quality of clinical research, clinical research on TCM requires specific and suitable research methods. Further trials may increase the quality of evidence to evaluate the clinical efficacy of TCM for T2DM.