The Effects of Auricular Therapy in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Purpose: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the effects of auricular therapy on alleviating indicators of disease status in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in the PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases using relevant search terms. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool for randomized controlled trials and the Risk of Bias tool for non-randomized studies of interventions. Results: Ten studies were included for the systematic review. Most of the studies were conducted in Asia, and randomized controlled trials were primarily chosen as the study design. The auricular therapy points most commonly used were related to the pancreas, which is associated with diabetes. A meta-analysis using a random-effects model to analyze glycated hemoglobin showed a Hedges' g value of -0.11 (95% CI: -0.53 to 0.32, p=.623), which was not statistically significant. However, the standardized mean difference for fasting blood sugar was -0.97 (95% CI=-1.22 to -0.72, p<.001), indicating a large and statistically significant effect size. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that auricular therapy may have an impact on fasting blood sugar levels.