Methodology and Reporting Quality Evaluation of Acupuncture for Mild Cognitive Impairment: An Overview of Systematic Reviews

Table 10

Characteristics of systematic reviews.

Study	Country	No. of primary studies	Study types	Intervention		Primary outcomes	Methodological evaluation tool	Subgroup analysis	Acupuncture point analysis	Main conclusions
				Treatment group	Control group
Mao [39]	China	5 (232)	RCT or q-RCT	Acupuncture alone or combined with other treatments	Donepezil hydrochloride or the same basic treatment as the treatment group	MMSE, MQ, CMS	Cochrane Handbook	Yes	Not mentioned	Acupuncture is an effective and safe treatment for mild cognitive impairment (MCI), but its clinical efficacy is not superior to conventional Western medicine.
Liu et al. [40]	China	6 (330)	RCT	Acupuncture combined with other treatments	Other treatments	MMSE, MQ, MoCA, CDR	Not mentioned	Not mentioned	Not mentioned	Acupuncture and moxibustion have a good effect on the treatment of MCI.
Lu et al. [41]	China	14 (—)	RCT	Acupuncture	Not mentioned	Not mentioned	CONSORT and STRICTA guidelines	Not mentioned	Not mentioned	The reporting quality of RCTs of acupuncture for MCI was moderate to low. The CONSORT statement and STRICTA should be used to standardize reporting of RCTs of acupuncture in the future.
Cao et al. [42]	China	12 (691)	RCT	Acupuncture	No acupuncture therapy	MMSE, MoCA, MBI, WMS	Cochrane Handbook	Yes	Not mentioned	The current clinical evidence is not of sufficient quality for a wider application of acupuncture to be recommended for the treatment of vascular mild cognitive impairment (VMCI).
Hu et al. [43]	China	14 (1052)	RCT	Acupuncture	Various Chinese patent medicines	MMSE	Cochrane Handbook	Yes	Not mentioned	Acupuncture is safe and effective in treating MCI.
Mai and Zheng [44]	China	5 (565)	RCT	Scalp acupuncture	Western medicines alone or other treatments	Total efficacy, MMSE, MoCA	Cochrane Handbook	Yes	Not mentioned	The clinical efficacy of scalp acupuncture in treating MCI was better than that of drug therapy alone, and the efficacy of scalp acupuncture and cognitive training was equivalent.
Deng and Wang [45]	China	5 (568)	RCT or q-RCT	Acupuncture alone or combined with other treatments	Another aggressive treatment	MoCA, MMSE, CDT, WMS	Cochrane Handbook	Yes	Yes	Acupuncture appears effective for amnestic MCI (aMCI) when used as an alternative or adjunctive treatment.
Ting et al. [46]	China	18 (1095)	RCT	Acupuncture-combined Western drug	Same drug as the intervention group	MMSE, ADL	Cochrane Handbook	Yes	Not mentioned	With the present shreds of evidence, acupuncture plus drug is more effective than the drug alone for the treatment of MCI.
Wang [47]	China	25 (1847)	RCT	Acupuncture alone or combined with other therapies; empirical acupuncture	Drug therapy; ordinary acupuncture	Clinical efficacy, MMSE	Not mentioned	Yes	Yes	Acupuncture and moxibustion treatment of MCI is effective and safe.
Li et al. [48]	China	10 (666)	RCT	Acupuncture	No acupuncture therapy	Total efficacy, MMSE, MoCA, ADL	Cochrane Handbook	Yes	Not mentioned	Acupuncture and moxibustion have certain therapeutic advantages in the treatment of MCI.
Kim et al. [49]	Korea	5 (257)	RCT or SR	Electric acupuncture	Western medications	MMSE, MoCA, CMS, CDT	Cochrane Handbook	Yes	Yes	Electroacupuncture was an effective treatment for MCI patients by improving cognitive function.