Brussels, 9 October 2023
A newly published report provides evidence that homeopathy has significant positive health effects, well beyond what can be explained by the placebo effect. This finding should encourage further research to evaluate the benefit of homeopathy for different diseases.
The report, in the scientific journal “Systematic Reviews” is the first systematic review of all six existing meta-analyses of placebo-controlled homeopathy trials that tested homeopathy for any disease indication. This type of review is important as it allows to pinpoint larger trends across different analyses. The methodological quality of the homeopathy trials was similar to that of conventional medicine trials with the same design, from a similar time period, and assessed according to the same criteria. Likewise, the quality of evidence for the efficacy of homeopathy was similar or higher than for 90% of interventions across medicine. This means the evidence for homeopathy’s impact on patient health is as strong as that of conventional treatments.
“The evidence of efficacy from placebo-controlled trials in this rigorous systematic review is striking”, says Dr. Thomas Breitkreuz, International Federation of Anthroposophic Medical Associations (IVAA) president and head of the Paracelsus Hospital, Germany. “The findings show that the repeated calls to stop support for homeopathy are unfounded and that continued high-quality research into homeopathy is warranted.”
IVAA represents Anthroposophic Medicine, which differs from homeopathy but shares a holistic approach to patient care. Both are part of traditional, complementary and integrative healthcare.
The University of Bern, Switzerland, has recently published evidence summaries of homeopathy research on its website, covering the state of basic research including physico-chemical, in-vitro, plant-based and animal-based studies, and the state of clinical research (prior to the new review). The summaries are made available by the Institute of Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University of Bern.
*Image Source: https://www.uni-wh.de/en/uwh-international/start/
Access to the full study:
Hamre, H. J., et al. (2023). Efficacy of homeopathic treatment: Systematic review of meta-analyses of randomised placebo-controlled homeopathy trials for any indication. Systematic Reviews 12(1): 191. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-023-02313-2
About IVAA:
IVAA, or International Federation of Anthroposophic Medical Associations, promotes the recognition of Anthroposophic Medicine and its implementation in health care systems. Our vision is a world where the benefits of anthroposophic medicine are widely recognised, and where patients and doctors have ready access to complementary anthroposophic medicines and treatments that improve healthcare outcomes.
Press contact:
Isabelle Salameh
+961 70 089 640
communications@ivaa.info
