A Meta-Analysis on the Efficacy and Safety of the Nourishing Yin and Clearing Heat Methods as an Adjunctive Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Objective To systematically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of nourishing yin and clearing heat combined with conventional hypoglycemic Western medicine in treating type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).Methods A comprehensive search was conducted in databases including CNKI,WanFang,VIP,SinoMed,PubMed,Cochrane Library,and Web of Science from their inception to May 2022.The search aimed to identify randomized controlled trials(RCTs)e-valuating the efficacy of nourishing yin and clearing heat in treating T2DM.The control group received conventional West-ern medical treatment,while the experimental group received additional traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)or formulas primarily focusing on nourishing yin and clearing heat.The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool,and statistical analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software.Results A total of 40 RCTs with 3637 patients were included in the meta-analysis.The results indicated that the overall clinical efficacy rate was higher in the experimental group compared to the control group[RR=1.23,95%CI(1.19,1.27),P<0.000 01].The experimental group also showed superior outcomes in reducing fasting blood glucose[MD=-1.17,95%CI(-1.33,-1.01),P<0.000 01],2-h postprandial blood glucose[MD=-1.77,95%CI(-2.10,-1.44),P<0.000 01],glycated hemo-globin[MD=-1.03,95%CI(-1.28,-0.77),P<0.000 01],fasting insulin[MD=-3.35,95%CI(-4.01,-2.69),P<0.000 01],insulin resistance index[MD=-0.66,95%CI(-1.19,-0.13),P=0.01],tumor necrosis factor-α[SMD=-3.88,95%CI(-5.74,-2.02),P<0.000 01],interleukin-6[SMD=-3.17,95%CI(-4.54,-1.80),P<0.000 01],triglycerides[MD=-0.51,95%CI(-0.69,-0.33),P<0.000 01],and total cholesterol[MD=-0.75,95%CI(-0.99,-0.50),P<0.000 01].Additionally,the incidence of adverse reactions was signifi-cantly lower in the experimental group[RR=0.52,95%CI(0.36,0.76),P=0.0007].Conclusion The adjunctive treatment of T2DM with nourishing yin and clearing heat method shows good clinical efficacy and a certain level of safety.However,due to the limitations in the quality of the included studies,more large-scale samples and multicenter RCTs are needed to provide more reliable evidence.
Type 2 Diabetes MellitusNourishing Yin and Clearing HeatEffectivenessMeta-Analysis