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This systematic review and network meta-analysis pooled data from fifty-one randomised controlled trials involving 4,129 participants to compare six non-pharmacological traditional Chinese medicine therapies for prediabetes. The interventions examined were acupuncture, acupoint catgut embedding, Baduanjin (an eight-section qigong exercise), electroacupuncture, massage, and Taiji.
Using a statistical technique called surface under the cumulative ranking curve to rank therapies, the analysis found that massage ranked highest for reducing fasting plasma glucose and two-hour postprandial plasma glucose, while acupuncture was the only intervention to significantly reduce glycated haemoglobin levels. Electroacupuncture performed particularly strongly across multiple outcomes: it ranked second for fasting plasma glucose reduction, second for postprandial glucose, and first for reducing body mass index. Electroacupuncture also ranked highest for reducing total cholesterol, while acupoint catgut embedding ranked highest for triglyceride reduction.
The authors acknowledge several limitations inherent in the included studies, including variation in treatment protocols, follow-up durations, and methodological quality across trials. They caution that results should be interpreted carefully and call for rigorously designed, direct head-to-head trials to strengthen the evidence base.
Conclusion: Non-pharmacological traditional Chinese medicine therapies, particularly electroacupuncture, massage, and acupuncture, show promising potential for improving blood glucose, body weight, and lipid outcomes in people with prediabetes, though higher-quality evidence is still needed.
Source: Qi X, Wang T, Liao L. Frontiers in endocrinology (2026). View on PubMed (PMID 42723999) · doi:10.3389/fendo.2026.1907358