Ear Acupuncture with Dietary Guidance Improves Glycemic Control and Quality of Life: Study
A new study published in the journal of Medicine showed that a safe and efficient way to improve glycemic control is to combine dietary advice with ear acupuncture.
Long-term glycemic management and consistent lifestyle adherence are necessary for diabetes mellitus, but inadequate adherence to dietary guidelines continues to be a significant obstacle to the best possible results. Through autonomic and hypothalamic pathways, auricular acupuncture has been proposed to affect insulin sensitivity, hunger management, and stress responses by stimulating certain sites on the ear that correlate to neuroendocrine and metabolic regulation.
This strategy may provide synergistic effects when used with organized dietary advice since it targets behavioral adherence and physiological glucose management at the same time. Thus, this study assessed how glycemic control, adherence, and quality of life were affected in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus when ear acupuncture and individualized dietary counseling were combined.
113 patients treated between January 2023 and December 2024 were included in a retrospective case-control research. They were split into two groups for a three-month intervention: the intervention group (auricular acupuncture + dietary advice, n = 55) and the control group (standard treatment, n = 58). Fasting plasma glucose, hemoglobin A1c, 2-hour postprandial glucose, 18-item patient satisfaction questionnaire satisfaction scores, Morisky-8 adherence scores, SF-36 quality of life scores, and safety indicators were among the important results.
After three months, the intervention group demonstrated higher adherence and satisfaction levels along with considerably larger decreases in hemoglobin A1c, 2-hour postprandial glucose, and fasting plasma glucose (all P<.05). While adverse events were modest and self-limited, SF-36 data showed better mental health, role-physical, role-emotional, and physical function domains (P<.05).
Overall, the results of this study show that ear acupuncture in conjunction with dietary advice is a safe, efficient, and promising strategy for enhancing glycemic control, treatment compliance, and quality of life. It also has a great deal of promise for incorporation into community-based chronic disease management. This integrated strategy improves quality of life, increases treatment adherence, and has great potential for integration into community-based chronic illness management initiatives.
Reference:
Feng, F., Zhao, Y., Zhang, Y., Xu, H., Lai, H., Wang, J., & Wang, N. (2025). The effect of auricular acupuncture combined with dietary guidance on blood glucose levels and compliance in diabetic patients: A retrospective case-control study. Medicine, 104(50), e45912. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000045912
