Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Activity in Switzerland

Introduction Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) becomes popular in Switzerland; however, Swiss TCM research activity and scientific output have not been investigated. Methods To describe the Swiss TCM research activities and main health conditions studied, a systematic literature search of PubMed (covering databases such as MEDLINE, life science journals and online books) and Embase was performed from database inception to December 31st, 2023. Articles describing a TCM-related therapy modality in humans with at least one author affiliated with a Swiss institution. Primary outcome was the main health condition studied. Secondary outcomes are the total number of articles published over time, the TCM therapies used, and the Swiss institutions involved. Results Of the 223 published articles included in the final analysis, 68.2% originated from the top 3 of 73Swiss institutions: the University of Zurich (32.3%), University of Bern (30.0%) and University of Basel (7.6%). Overall, 116 (52.0%) articles described original studies containing primary data. The top health categories studied were pain management (16.4%). The most used TCM therapies were acupuncture or moxibustion (61.2%). Conclusion Until 2023, the total number of scientific TCM output by Swiss authors is steadily increasing but remains small. More effort to conducted TCM research and elucidate the TCM therapy effects in Switzerland is warranted.