Acupuncture is associated with reduced dementia risk in patients with insomnia: A propensity-score-matched cohort study of real-world data

Background and aim: Insomnia is a subjective illness that has been identified as a risk factor for dementia. In this study, we investigated the association of acupuncture treatment for insomnia with the risk of dementia. We collected data from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD)...

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Main Authors: Cheng-Hao Huang, Shun-Ku Lin, Mei-Chen Lin, Ching-Liang Hsieh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-05-01
Series:Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2225411023000172
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author Cheng-Hao Huang
Shun-Ku Lin
Mei-Chen Lin
Ching-Liang Hsieh
author_facet Cheng-Hao Huang
Shun-Ku Lin
Mei-Chen Lin
Ching-Liang Hsieh
author_sort Cheng-Hao Huang
collection DOAJ
description Background and aim: Insomnia is a subjective illness that has been identified as a risk factor for dementia. In this study, we investigated the association of acupuncture treatment for insomnia with the risk of dementia. We collected data from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) of Taiwan to analyze the incidence of dementia in patients with insomnia who received acupuncture treatment. Experimental procedure: This retrospective matched-cohort study included 152,585 patients, selected from the NHIRD, who were newly diagnosed with insomnia between 2000 and 2010. The follow-up period ranged from the index date to the date of dementia diagnosis, date of withdrawal from the insurance program, or December 31, 2013. A 1:1 propensity score method was used to match an equal number of patients (N = 18,782) in the acupuncture and non-acupuncture cohorts. We employed Cox proportional hazards models to evaluate the risk of dementia. The cumulative incidence of dementia in both cohorts was estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method, and the difference between them was assessed through a log-rank test. Results and conclusion: Patients with insomnia who received acupuncture treatment were observed to have a lower risk of dementia (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.54, 95% confidence interval = 0.50–0.60) than those who did not undergo acupuncture treatment. The cumulative incidence of dementia was significantly lower in the acupuncture cohort than in the non-acupuncture cohort (log-rank test, p < 0.001). The results suggest that acupuncture treatment significantly reduced or slowed the development of dementia in patients with insomnia.
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spelling doaj.art-9e9c08c760804497ae519b2ff5429a542023-04-23T06:06:20ZengElsevierJournal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine2225-41102023-05-01133297305Acupuncture is associated with reduced dementia risk in patients with insomnia: A propensity-score-matched cohort study of real-world dataCheng-Hao Huang0Shun-Ku Lin1Mei-Chen Lin2Ching-Liang Hsieh3Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung City, 40447, TaiwanInstitute of Public Health, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei City, 112304, Taiwan; Department of Chinese Medicine, Taipei City Hospital, Renai Branch, Taipei City, 106243, Taiwan; General Education Center, University of Taipei, Taipei City, 111036, TaiwanManagement Office for Health Data, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, 40447, Taiwan; College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, 40402, TaiwanDepartment of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung City, 40447, Taiwan; Chinese Medicine Research Center, China Medical University, Taichung City, 40402, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Acupuncture Science, China Medical University, Taichung City, 40402, Taiwan; Corresponding author. Graduate Institute of Acupuncture Science, China Medical University. 91 Hsueh-Shih Road, Taichung, 40402, Taiwan.Background and aim: Insomnia is a subjective illness that has been identified as a risk factor for dementia. In this study, we investigated the association of acupuncture treatment for insomnia with the risk of dementia. We collected data from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) of Taiwan to analyze the incidence of dementia in patients with insomnia who received acupuncture treatment. Experimental procedure: This retrospective matched-cohort study included 152,585 patients, selected from the NHIRD, who were newly diagnosed with insomnia between 2000 and 2010. The follow-up period ranged from the index date to the date of dementia diagnosis, date of withdrawal from the insurance program, or December 31, 2013. A 1:1 propensity score method was used to match an equal number of patients (N = 18,782) in the acupuncture and non-acupuncture cohorts. We employed Cox proportional hazards models to evaluate the risk of dementia. The cumulative incidence of dementia in both cohorts was estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method, and the difference between them was assessed through a log-rank test. Results and conclusion: Patients with insomnia who received acupuncture treatment were observed to have a lower risk of dementia (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.54, 95% confidence interval = 0.50–0.60) than those who did not undergo acupuncture treatment. The cumulative incidence of dementia was significantly lower in the acupuncture cohort than in the non-acupuncture cohort (log-rank test, p < 0.001). The results suggest that acupuncture treatment significantly reduced or slowed the development of dementia in patients with insomnia.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2225411023000172AcupunctureInsomniaDementiaNational health insurance research database (NHIRD)Propensity scoreCohort
spellingShingle Cheng-Hao Huang
Shun-Ku Lin
Mei-Chen Lin
Ching-Liang Hsieh
Acupuncture is associated with reduced dementia risk in patients with insomnia: A propensity-score-matched cohort study of real-world data
Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine
Acupuncture
Insomnia
Dementia
National health insurance research database (NHIRD)
Propensity score
Cohort
title Acupuncture is associated with reduced dementia risk in patients with insomnia: A propensity-score-matched cohort study of real-world data
title_full Acupuncture is associated with reduced dementia risk in patients with insomnia: A propensity-score-matched cohort study of real-world data
title_fullStr Acupuncture is associated with reduced dementia risk in patients with insomnia: A propensity-score-matched cohort study of real-world data
title_full_unstemmed Acupuncture is associated with reduced dementia risk in patients with insomnia: A propensity-score-matched cohort study of real-world data
title_short Acupuncture is associated with reduced dementia risk in patients with insomnia: A propensity-score-matched cohort study of real-world data
title_sort acupuncture is associated with reduced dementia risk in patients with insomnia a propensity score matched cohort study of real world data
topic Acupuncture
Insomnia
Dementia
National health insurance research database (NHIRD)
Propensity score
Cohort
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2225411023000172
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