RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Risk of dementia in patients with non-haemorrhagic stroke receiving acupuncture treatment: a nationwide matched cohort study from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database
JF BMJ Open
JO BMJ Open
FD British Medical Journal Publishing Group
SP e013638
DO 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013638
VO 7
IS 6
A1 Chun-Chuan Shih
A1 Chun-Chieh Yeh
A1 Chaur-Jong Hu
A1 Hsin-Long Lane
A1 Chin-Chuan Tsai
A1 Ta-Liang Chen
A1 Chien-Chang Liao
YR 2017
UL http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/7/6/e013638.abstract
AB Objective To investigate the risk of dementia in patients with stroke who did and did not receive acupuncture treatment.Design Retrospective cohort study.Setting This study was based on Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database that included patients with stroke hospitalised between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2004.Participants We identified 11 220 patients aged 50 years and older with newly diagnosed stroke hospitalisation.Primary and secondary outcome measures We compared the incident dementia during the follow-up period until the end of 2009 in patients with stroke who did and did not receive acupuncture. The adjusted HRs and 95% CIs of dementia associated with acupuncture were calculated in multivariate Cox proportional hazard regressions.Results Acupuncture treatment was associated with a decreased risk of dementia with multivariate adjustment (HR, 0.73; 95% CI 0.66 to 0.80), and the association was significant in both sexes and every age group, as well as in groups with ischaemic stroke, with fewer medical conditions and those hospitalised after stroke. Patients with stroke received acupuncture treatment, and conventional rehabilitation was associated with a significantly reduced risk of poststroke dementia (HR, 0.64; 95% CI 0.56 to 0.74).Conclusions This study raises the possibility that patients with non-haemorrhagic stroke who received acupuncture had a reduced risk of dementia. The results suggest the need for prospective sham-controlled and randomised trials to establish the efficacy of acupuncture in preventing dementia.