Key result
Acupuncture lowers heart rate in ~79% of menopausal women via increased parasympathetic activity.
Why the study?
Heart rate variability has been used to assess autonomic nervous system activity and evaluate acupuncture, prompting this study to investigate the relationship between heart rate and autonomic nervous system activity during acupuncture and postural change.
Does Japanese-style acupuncture regulate autonomic nervous system activity and alleviate symptoms in menopausal women?
RCT (n=48)
Single-blind
Randomly assigned
No
Does Japanese-style acupuncture regulate autonomic nervous system activity and alleviate symptoms in menopausal women?
Absolute Event Rate: 79% vs 8.3%
Acupuncture regulates autonomic nervous system function, causing a decreased heart rate and alleviating menopausal symptoms.
May support acupuncture referral for menopausal symptoms; extends RCT evidence on parasympathetic regulation.
Objective: The autonomic nervous system (ANS) has been assessed using heart rate variability (HRV), and HRV has been used to evaluate acupuncture. This study investigated the relationship between heart rate (HR) and ANS activity during acupuncture and postural change. Materials and Methods: Subjects (48 menopausal women) were assigned randomly to acupuncture and sham groups. Japanese-style acupuncture at 7 points was performed weekly for 4 weeks. For sham treatment an acupuncture tube was pressed at the same 7 points. Measurements of HR were taken at: stage 1 (supine position before acupuncture; control); stage 2 (acupuncture for 10 minutes), and stage 3 (after standing for 10 minutes). During the experiments, the following HRV indices were obtained: high (0.15 - 0.40 Hz) frequency (HF) power and low frequency (LF) power/high frequency power ratio (LF/HF) as an index of the parasympathetic nervous system activity and sympathetic nervous system activity, respectively. Participants' menopausal symptoms were assessed using a visual analogue scale. Results: = 0.000). HR decreased by ≥5% in 79% (19/24) of the acupuncture-treated subjects. HF was increased significantly during acupuncture, while LF/HF decreased during standing. Menopausal symptoms were alleviated significantly. Conclusions: Stimulation during acupuncture-needle insertion and removal regulated ANS function, causing a decreased HR. This technique relieve patients' menopausal symptoms.
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Kouzuma et al. (2022) conducted an RCT in Menopausal symptoms (n=48). Acupuncture vs. Sham acupuncture (acupuncture tube pressed at same points without needle insertion) was evaluated on Heart rate decrease of ≥5% during treatment. Acupuncture decreased heart rate by ≥5% in 79% of treated menopausal women by increasing parasympathetic activity, which was associated with alleviation of menopausal symptoms.
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