Prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use by menopausal women: a systematic review of surveys.

Large proportions of women have turned to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for relief from their menopausal symptoms. This highlights the need for more rigorous research into CAM. This article is aimed at critically reviewing surveys that examine the prevalence of CAM use by menopausal women worldwide. Eleven databases were searched for peer-reviewed surveys published in any language between 01 January 2000 and 27 October 2012. The bibliographies of the retrieved articles and relevant book chapters were also hand searched. Twenty-six surveys were identified, and they included a total of 32,465 menopausal women. The majority of these surveys were of poor methodological quality. Based on 6 surveys, 32.9% of women stated they were current/regular CAM users. Based on 9 surveys, 50.5% of women reported that they used CAM specifically for their menopausal symptoms. The average 12-month prevalence of CAM use was 47.7% (range: 33.1-56.2). Fifty-five percent of women did not disclose their use of CAM to their healthcare professional. The majority of women sought information about CAM from the media. The most popular CAM modality was herbal medicine, followed by soy/phytoestrogens, evening primrose oil, relaxation and yoga. There are a large number of predominantly low-quality surveys monitoring the prevalence of CAM use among menopausal women worldwide. The available evidence suggests that the prevalence of CAM use is high.

Auricular acupuncture for insomnia: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: Auricular acupuncture (AA) is a therapeutic method by which specific points on the auricle are stimulated to treat various conditions. AA is often recommended as treatment for insomnia. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate data from randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trials testing the effectiveness of AA for treating insomnia. METHODS: We searched the literature using 18 databases from their inception to April 2008 without language restrictions. All prospective randomised clinical trials (RCTs) of AA for subjects with insomnia were considered. Methodological quality was assessed using the Jadad score. RESULTS: We identified 433 possible relevant articles, in which include 10 acceptable RCTs. The methodological quality of the trials was generally poor. Magnetic pellets AA was compared with placebo AA in three of the studies. The results suggested beneficial effects on sleep efficiency compared with placebo AA. One RCT tested needle AA compared with placebo AA and failed to show the effectiveness of AA. Four RCTs compared Semen Vaccariae or magnetic pellet AA with conventional drugs (estazolam or diazepam). Favourable effects for AA were found. Two RCTs tested thumbtack needle AA vs. no treatment suggested beneficial effects of AA on a sleep score. CONCLUSION: We conclude that, because of the paucity and of the poor quality of the data, the evidence for the effectiveness of AA for the symptomatic treatment of insomnia is limited. Further, rigorously designed trials are warranted to confirm these results.