Clinical Study on Acupuncture Treatment of People with Phlegm-dampness Constitution and Impaired Glucose Tolerance
TAN Chaojian,LAN Wei,LAN Hongqin,ZHANG Zhi,LIAO Zhou,DENG Wenjian,XU Mengge
(The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan 410007, China;Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan 410208, China)
Abstract:
Objective By identifying the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) constitution of people with impaired glucose tolerance and selecting acupoints according to their constitution to explore the optimal therapeutic scheme of acupuncture intervention in people with phlegm-dampness constitution and impaired glucose tolerance. Methods A total of 66 subjects with impaired glucose tolerance and phlegm-dampness constitution were randomly divided into a treatment group (acupuncture + lifestyle intervention) and a control group (lifestyle intervention), with 33 cases in each group. After 3 courses of treatment, the 2 groups were compared. The changes of 6 indicators:fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2-hour postprandial plasma glucose (2hPG), glycohemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting insulin (FINS), 2-hour postprandial insulin (2hINS) and TCM phlegm-dampness scores were observed to objectively evaluate the therapeutic effect of acupuncture intervention on impaired glucose tolerance and phlegm-dampness. Results (1) After treatment, FPG, 2hPG, HbA1c, FINS, 2hINS, and TCM phlegm-dampness scores showed apparent improvement in both groups (P<0.05). Those changes of indicators in the treatment group were improved more significantly than the control group (P<0.05), except the FPG differences were not as significant (P>0.05). (2) After treatment, the improvement of phlegm-dampness constitution in the treatment group had significant difference when compared with that of the control group (P<0.05). (3) The efficacy differences of impaired glucose tolerance treatment with lifestyle intervention in both groups had no statistical significance (P>0.05). Conclusion It is inferred that acupuncture on acupoints selected by different constitution has certain advantages in treating people with phlegm-dampness and impaired glucose tolerance and can be further promoted and applied in the clinic.