Moxibustion plus acupuncture improves the efficacy and quality of life of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Objective: To observe the effect of moxibustion combined with acupuncture on the efficacy and quality of life of spleen-kidney-yang-deficiency patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Materials and Methods: A total of 90 patients with PCOS of spleen-kidney yang deficiency type from January 2020 to March 2021 were selected and randomly divided into three groups, 30 patients each in the moxibustion group, acupuncture group, and moxibustion combined with acupuncture group (combined group). The changes of body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), fasting insulin (FINS), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone (T), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinical symptom score, efficacy, and quality of life score in the three groups were observed before and 3 months after treatment. Results: After treatment, (1) compared with the moxibustion and acupuncture groups, the combined group was more effective in reducing BMI (F = 5.274, P < 0.05) and WHR (F = 8.246, P < 0.05) in PCOS patients; (2) FINS, FPG, and HOMA-IR were reduced in all three groups, and the reduction in these three indicators was more pronounced in combined group (FINS: F = 5.637, P < 0.05, FPG: F = 4.915, P < 0.05, HOMA-IR: F = 3.817, P < 0.05); (3) The FSH, LH, and T levels of patients in the combined group were better than those in the remaining two groups (FSH: F = 4,163, P < 0.05, LH: F = 5.098, P < 0.05, T: F = 7.038, P < 0.05); (4) The TG and TC of patients in the combined group were lower than those in the remaining two groups (TG: F = 4.806, P < 0.05, TC: F = 3.828, P < 0.05); (5) The TCM clinical symptom score of the combined group was significantly lower than those of the moxibustion and acupuncture groups (F = 4.547, P < 0.05); (6) The quality of life of patients in the combined group improved more significantly than the moxibustion and acupuncture groups (F = 6.239, P < 0.05); (7) The total effective rate of the combined group was higher than that of the moxibustion and acupuncture groups (χ2 = 6.947, P = 0.031). Conclusion: The combination of moxibustion and acupuncture can effectively reduce the BMI and WHR of PCOS patients, improve the endocrine function, sex hormone level, TCM symptoms and quality of life of patients, and has significant efficacy and high safety, which is worthy of wide clinical application.