ABSTRACT
Objective To observe the short- and long-term efficacies of acupuncture in treating metabolic syndrome (MS). Method A hundred MS patients were randomized into an acupuncture group and a Western medication group. In addition to basic treatment, acupuncture was used in the acupuncture group, while Western medication was adopted in the Western medication group. The fasting plasma glucose (FPG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), insulin (INS), triglyceride (TG), blood pressure (BP), weight circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), and MS score were evaluated before and after treatment, and a month and 3 months after the treatment. Result There was no significant difference in comparing the short-term therapeutic efficacy between the two groups after treatment, while the long-term therapeutic efficacy of the acupuncture group was superior to that of the Western medication group (P<0.01); the FPG, INS, TG, HDL, BP, and MS score were significantly improved after treatment and a month after the treatment in both groups (P<0.01); the acupuncture group had significant improvements in WC and BMI after treatment and a month after the treatment (P<0.01), significantly superior to the Western medication group (P<0.01); the acupuncture group showed marked improvement in INS, HDL, WC, and BMI 3 months after the treatment (P<0.01), significantly superior to the Western medication group (P<0.01,P<0.05). Conclusion Acupuncture can produce a similar short-term but a better long-term therapeutic efficacy compared to Western medication. Hence, acupuncture can be taken as an assistant intervention for MS.