Background: Inflammation is an important pathogenesis of vascular dementia (VaD), and the regulatory effect of acupuncture on neuroinflammation has received extensive attention. There is conflicting evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for postpartum VaD. This overview aims to systematically evaluate systematic reviews/meta-analyses (SRs/MAs) of acupuncture on VaD.
Methods: From the establishment of the electronic database to August 2022, search and identify SRs/MAs on acupuncture treatment for VaD. The Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR-2), the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 (PRISMA 2020), and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system were used to evaluate the methodological, reporting, and evidence quality of the included SRs/MAs.
Results: Twelve SRs/MAs were included in this research, and the quality of methodological, reporting, and evidence for these SRs/MAs were not satisfactory. The shortcomings of these SRs/MAs mainly include lack of protocol registration, incomplete literature search, missing list of excluded literature, and high risk of bias of included original clinical trials.
Conclusion: VaD patients may benefit from acupuncture therapy. However, the high risk of bias in original clinical trials and the low quality of SRs/MAs make evidence-based decisions less reliable.
Keywords: acupuncture, vascular dementia, randomised controlled trials, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, overview