Meta analysis of integrated Chinese-Western medicine therapy for type 2 diabetes mellitus

Objective: To systematically compare the effects of integrated Chinese-Western medicine (ICWM) with Western medicine alone (WM) in treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: Both a computer-aided search of PubMed, CNKI, VIP, Wanfang data and an intensive search by hand were conducted to identify all randomized controlled trials assessing the effect of ICWM with WM in treating T2DM and Meta-analysis was performed. Results: Ninety six studies were collected, of which 20 studies were involved. Combined OR of efficient rate was 4.26 and its 95% confidence interval (CI) was 3.42-5.32, weighted mean difference (WMD) of fasting blood glucose (FBG), triglyceride and total cholesterol were - 1.16 mmol · L-1 [95% CI -1.36, -0.96], -0.27 mmol · L-1 [95%CI -0.41, -0.12], -0.71 mmol · L-1 [95%CI -0.98, -0.44], respectively. Conclusion: ICWM has a better effect in treating T2DM compared with WM alone.