The efficacy of Chinese patent medicine intervention on blood glucose and lipid in prediabetes: A meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to analyze the efficacy and safety of Chinese patent medicine in the treatment of blood glucose, blood lipid and insulin resistance in prediabetic patients through a meta-analysis of clinical trials. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials of Chinese patent medicine in the treatment of prediabetes were searched in the databases of CNKI, WanFang, VIP, CBM, PubMed, Web of Science and Embase using the computer with the search deadline on June 2, 2022. The two researchers independently screened the literatures based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the fasting blood glucose, postprandial blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, insulin resistance index, blood lipids, prediabetes reversal rate and diabetes conversion rate were used as outcome indicators. The quality of the study was evaluated according to the Cochrane scale, and data were analyzed by RevMan software. RESULTS: Sixteen clinical trial studies were eventually fitted into, and a meta-analysis was conducted on the included studies, and the final results showed as follows: Compared with conventional lifestyle intervention, the remedy of Chinese patent medicine intervention in prediabetes patients had significant effects on the outcome indicators, such as fasting blood glucose [MD = -0.36, 95%CI = (-0.45,-0.26), P < 0.00001], 2 h postprandial blood glucose [MD = -0.71, 95%CI = (-0.99,-0.42), P < 0.00001], glycated hemoglobin [MD = -0.33, 95%CI = (-0.48,-0.19), P < 0.00001], BMI [MD = -0.82, 95%CI = (-1.20,-0.44), P < 0.0001], insulin resistance index [MD = -0.20, 95%CI = (-0.29,-0.11), P < 0.00001], diabetes conversion rate [MD = 0.49, 95%CI = (0.34,0.70), P＜0.0001], and the differences were indicated as a statistically significant. However, the outcome indexes of TC, TG, HDL-C and LDL-C in blood lipid exhibited no significant effect, and no significant difference. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that Chinese patent medicine intervention could ameliorate the outcome indicators of prediabetes with significant efficacy and good safety. Its therapeutic effect was mainly manifested in blood glucose, insulin, body weight, and diabetes conversion rate. Chinese patent medicine maybe a promising avenue for prediabetes.