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Benefits of Herbal Medicine on Bone Mineral Density in Osteoporosis: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Department of Traditional Medicine, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital Kaohsiung 81362, Taiwan, ROC

Institute of Education, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan, ROC

Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 83301, Taiwan, ROC

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Yu-Chiang Hung

Department of Chinese Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 83301, Taiwan, ROC

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Tun-Pin Hsueh

Department of Chinese Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 83301, Taiwan, ROC

Institute of Traditional Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan, ROC

E-mail Address: melaopin@gmail.com

Correspondence to: Dr. Tun-Pin Hsueh, Department of Chinese Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, 123, Dapi Rd. Niaosong Dist, Kaohsiung 83301, Taiwan. Tel.: (+886) 7-731-7123 #2329, Fax: (+886) 7-731-7123 #2325.

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https://doi.org/10.1142/S0192415X20500871Cited by:9 (Source: Crossref)

Abstract

Bone mineral density (BMD) has been validated not only for the diagnosis of osteoporosis but also for prediction of the risk of osteoporosis-related fractures. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the overall benefits of herbal medicines on BMD using a meta-analytic method. Systematic searches in PubMed, Medline, Cochrane Central, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were performed for eligible studies. A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the benefits of herbal medicine treatment and conventional treatment for BMD. Herbal medicines frequently used for interventions were pooled in the analysis and further investigated. Seventeen studies were pooled in the meta-analysis and showed that BMD was higher in the herbal medicine group than in the control group (standardized mean difference [SMD]: 0.857; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.412 to 1.301). Significant benefits of herbal medicine for BMD were found in the lumbar spine, femoral neck, and femoral trochanter and in postmenopausal women (SMD: 0.600, 95% CI: 0.068 to 1.131) by subgroup analysis. Moreover, through the meta-regression analysis, the age at menopause and the menopause duration were found to influence the herbal intervention effects on BMD. In addition, the most prescribed medicine among the effective herbs in the pooled studies was found to be Epimedium brevicornum Maxim. This paper provides evidence that herbal medicine interventions increase BMD more than conventional treatments in individuals with osteoporosis, especially postmenopausal women. The results of this study suggest that herbal medicines are effective for increasing BMD in individuals with osteoporosis.

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