Objective This study aims to comprehensively evaluate the therapeutic effects of traditional chinese medicine (TCM) formulas and acupuncture on female sexual dysfunction (FSD), as well as the clinical efficacy of their combined application. Methods We conducted a systematic review and Meta-analysis of clinical studies on TCM and acupuncture for FSD by searching Cochrane, Embase, CNKI, CBM, and PubMed databases from their inception to May 2024. Additionally, we enrolled 32 patients with FSD who visited the Changsha Maternal and Child Health Hospital from January 2023 to December 2024. These patients were randomly assigned to either a TCM control group or a combined TCM and acupuncture group. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) scores were compared before and after one month of treatment. Results A total of 8 eligible studies were included in the Meta-analysis, with 4 studies focusing on TCM treatment and 4 on acupuncture treatment. The Meta-analysis revealed that acupuncture significantly improved FSFI scores (SMD=0.75, 95% CI: 0.44-1.07), particularly in enhancing sexual desire (SMD=0.90, 95% CI: 0.58-1.21) and sexual arousal (SMD=0.71, 95% CI: 0.4-1.02), but it had no significant effect on vaginal lubrication, orgasm, sexual satisfaction, or sexual pain. TCM treatment also increased FSFI scores (SMD=0.91, 95% CI: 0.58-1.24) and elevated serum estradiol levels in FSD patients (SMD=1.76, 95% CI: 0.60-2.92), while showing no significant impact on progesterone, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, prolactin, or testosterone. In the clinical study, patients were randomly assigned to a TCM treatment control group and a combined treatment group receiving both Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture. A comparative analysis conducted one month after treatment revealed that both groups showed improvements in all FSFI indicator scores compared to before treatment. Moreover, the combined treatment group demonstrated more significant improvements in vaginal lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction with intercourse, pain during intercourse, and the total FSFI score. Conclusion Both TCM and acupuncture can effectively treat FSD by improving enhancing sexual desire and arousal, and increasing estradiol levels. However, their effects on other indicators were not significant. The combined application of TCM and acupuncture demonstrated superior efficacy compared to TCM alone in treating FSD, thereby improving patients' sexual quality.
Key words
traditional Chinese medicine /
acupuncture /
female sexual dysfunction /
meta analysis
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