Home-Based Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy for Blood Pressure and Cardiometabolic Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
- 1Amsterdam UMC
Abstract
BackgroundCardiometabolic disease is a leading cause of death, and most therapies suppress established pathology rather than restore functional capacity. Pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy is a non-invasive stimulus touted as a potential complementary approach that may engage adaptive responses, with practical potential for home-based use. We systematically reviewed and meta-analysed PEMF effects on cardiometabolic outcomes.
MethodsWe searched seven electronic databases and Google Scholar from inception to 31 August 2026 for studies of PEMF in adults, healthy or with cardiometabolic conditions. Between-group differences were rescaled into minimal clinically important difference (MCID) units to facilitate comparison across diverse outcomes. Established anchor-based MCIDs were used where available; otherwise, 0.5 pooled within-arm SD was used. Effects were pooled using multilevel random-effects models with study-clustered robust variance, with subgroup, sensitivity, and exploratory dose-response analyses. The review was registered with PROSPERO (CRD420261404575).
ResultsTen studies (353 participants) were included. PEMF was associated with an overall benefit of 0.54 MCID units (95% CI 0.08-1.00). Effects were largest in hypertension (1.24 MCID units, 0.52-1.96), with no observed heterogeneity across two double-blind trials (I2=0%). Exploratory multivariable meta-regression associated greater cumulative exposure and lower frequency with larger effects.
ConclusionsPEMF therapy may offer a non-invasive, non-pharmacological adjunct for improving cardiometabolic outcomes, with potential for home-based use. The most compelling signal was observed in hypertension, where the pooled effect exceeded one clinically important difference, although confirmation in larger trials is required.
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BibTeX
@misc{simfukwe2026homebased,
title = {{Home-Based Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy for Blood Pressure and Cardiometabolic Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis}},
author = {R. R. Simfukwe and P. Aovare and F. P. Chilunga},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.23.26363775},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.23.26363775v1},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Home-Based Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy for Blood Pressure and Cardiometabolic Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
AU - R. R. Simfukwe
AU - P. Aovare
AU - F. P. Chilunga
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/23
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.23.26363775
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.23.26363775v1
AB - BackgroundCardiometabolic disease is a leading cause of death, and most therapies suppress established pathology rather than restore functional capacity. Pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy is a non-invasive stimulus touted as a potential complementary approach that may engage adaptive responses, with practical potential for home-based use. We systematically reviewed and meta-analysed PEMF effects on cardiometabolic outcomes. MethodsWe searched seven electronic databases and Google Scholar from inception to 31 August 2026 for studies of PEMF in adults, healthy or with cardiometabolic conditions. Between-group differences were rescaled into minimal clinically important difference (MCID) units to facilitate comparison across diverse outcomes. Established anchor-based MCIDs were used where available; otherwise, 0.5 pooled within-arm SD was used. Effects were pooled using multilevel random-effects models with study-clustered robust variance, with subgroup, sensitivity, and exploratory dose-response analyses. The review was registered with PROSPERO (CRD420261404575). ResultsTen studies (353 participants) were included. PEMF was associated with an overall benefit of 0.54 MCID units (95% CI 0.08-1.00). Effects were largest in hypertension (1.24 MCID units, 0.52-1.96), with no observed heterogeneity across two double-blind trials (I2=0%). Exploratory multivariable meta-regression associated greater cumulative exposure and lower frequency with larger effects. ConclusionsPEMF therapy may offer a non-invasive, non-pharmacological adjunct for improving cardiometabolic outcomes, with potential for home-based use. The most compelling signal was observed in hypertension, where the pooled effect exceeded one clinically important difference, although confirmation in larger trials is required.
ER -