Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Background: Primary dysmenorrhea (PD), a common gynecological disorder, adversely affects the quality of life, mental health, and overall well-being of many young women. Given concerns about adverse effects of some Western medications, Chinese medicine (CM) and integrated Chinese-Western medicine (ICWM) approaches have gained attention. This study aims to systematically identify PD-related clinical evidence on CM and ICWM treatments, appraise and categorize the evidence by study design, and provide evidence summaries based on pre-defined clinical questions to inform evidence-based practice. Methods: As part of the AI-empowered Clinical Evidence for Integrated Chinese-Western Medicine (ACE-iMed) series, this study followed the ACE-iMed framework to systematically screen and identify PD-related evidence addressing 14 pre-defined clinical questions. We focused on clinical practice guidelines/consensus statements, systematic reviews, and randomized controlled trials, and searched databases and relevant websites from inception through September 6, 2025. The overarching methods are detailed in the series' methodological paper; the key and PD-specific methods are described in this article. Results: Of 5062 records identified, 219 met inclusion criteria: 4 clinical practice guidelines, 37 systematic reviews, and 178 randomized controlled trials. Almost eighty percent were published in Chinese. Mean quality assessment scores exceeded 50% of the maximum scale. The most frequently evaluated comparisons were oral Chinese herbal medicine versus Western medications and acupuncture versus conventional Western therapy. Conclusion: CM and ICWM interventions for PD are actively studied. Interest-holders, including clinicians, patients, the public, policymakers, and researchers, can access curated PD evidence (http://www.aceimed.org) to identify relevant studies and further support evidence-based research and practice.
Yu et al. (Sat,) studied this question.