Traditional herbal medicine for obesity-related polycystic ovary syndrome: a meta-analysis and data mining study
Abstract
Objective To systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy of traditional herbal medicine (THM) as an adjunctive therapy for obesity-related polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and to identify core botanical drug combinations using evidence synthesis and data mining approaches. Methods We searched six databases from inception to March 2025 for randomized controlled trials Meta-analyses were performed using Stata 15.1. Association rule mining was performed with the Apriori algorithm. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool (ROB 2.0) and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework were used to evaluate risk of bias and evidence certainty, respectively. Results Seventy-two RCTs involving 5,308 patients were included. Meta-analysis indicated that THM combined with conventional therapy significantly improved the clinical efficacy rate (OR = 3.73, 95% CI: 3.12 to 4.46, p < 0.001; low certainty) and clinical pregnancy rate (OR = 3.03, 95% CI: 2.05 to 4.48, p < 0.001; moderate certainty). Significant improvements were also observed in Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) (SMD = −0.81, 95% CI: −1.02 to −0.60, p < 0.001; very low certainty), body mass index (BMI) (SMD = −0.95, 95% CI: −1.09 to −0.81, p < 0.001; low certainty), total testosterone (TT) (SMD = −0.90, 95% CI: −1.10 to −0.69, p < 0.001; very low certainty), and the luteinizing hormone/follicle-stimulating hormone (LH/FSH) ratio (SMD = −0.88, 95% CI: −1.05…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 5,308 participants or records.
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