Effectiveness of Electroacupuncture for Simple Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Yanling Gao, Yi Wang, Jing Zhou, Zhihai Hu, Yin Shi, Yanling Gao, Yi Wang, Jing Zhou, Zhihai Hu, Yin Shi

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of electroacupuncture in the treatment of simple obesity.

Methods: Randomized clinical trials concerning electroacupuncture as a treatment of simple obesity published prior to October 31, 2019, were searched in the following Chinese and English databases: Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang Database, China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus. After data collection and quality evaluation, meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software and Stata 15.0 software.

Results: A total of 13 studies involving 937 patients with simple obesity were included in the meta-analysis. Results revealed that the total effective rate (RR = 1.29, 95% CI [1.13, 1.48]; P=0.0002), BMI (MD = -1.82, 95% CI [-2.21, -1.43]; P < 0.000), waist circumference (MD = -2.39, 95% CI [-3.95, -0.84]; P=0.003), hip circumference (MD = 0.31, 95% CI [-2.37, 2.99]; P=0.82), waist-hip ratio (MD = -0.05, 95% CI [-0.07, -0.03]; P < 0.00), and body fat rate (MD = -1.56, 95% CI [-2.35, -0.78]; P=0.0001) in the electroacupuncture group were superior to those in the control group. Analysis of acupoint clustering and correlation using SPSS 24.0 and Clementine 12.0 revealed the highest statistical support for acupoint groups CV12-CV4 and CV12-ST25-CV4, while ST36-CV12-ST25, SP6, and ST40-ST24-SP15-ST37-CV4 were found to be validly clustered acupoints.

Conclusion: For treating simple obesity, electroacupuncture is superior to other interventions such as acupuncture, acupoint catgut embedding therapy, and simple lifestyle modification for improvement in body fat rate, waist circumference, and waist-hip ratio, although not hip circumference. Acupoint analysis revealed that ST25, CV12, CV4, SP6, and ST36 can form the basis for electroacupuncture therapy for the treatment of simple obesity.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Copyright © 2020 Yanling Gao et al.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of study extraction and selection processes.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Icicle plot of main acupoints selected for electroacupuncture treatment of simple obesity.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Dendrogram of main acupoints selected for electroacupuncture treatment of simple obesity.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Risk of bias among included studies: determinations of review authors regarding risk of each bias item for each included study. “+,” low risk; “?,” unclear risk; “−,” high risk.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Meta-analysis of the overall response rate for the treatment of simple obesity with electroacupuncture.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Meta-analysis on Galbraith of overall response rate in electroacupuncture treating simple obesity.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Meta-analysis concerning the sensitivity of the overall response rate for the treatment of simple obesity with electroacupuncture.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Meta-analysis on Funnel plot of overall response rate in electroacupuncture treating simple obesity.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Meta-analysis concerning BMI reduction in the treatment of simple obesity with electroacupuncture.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Comparison of BMI reduction via intervention subgroup analysis in the treatment of simple obesity with electroacupuncture.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Comparison of BMI reduction via treatment course subgroup analysis in the treatment of simple obesity with electroacupuncture.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Meta-analysis of waist circumference reduction in the treatment of simple obesity with electroacupuncture.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Meta-analysis of hip circumference reduction in the treatment of simple obesity with electroacupuncture.
Figure 14
Figure 14
Meta-analysis of waist-hip ratio reduction in the treatment of simple obesity with electroacupuncture.
Figure 15
Figure 15
Meta-analysis of TCM syndrome score improvement in the treatment of simple obesity with electroacupuncture.
Figure 16
Figure 16
Meta-analysis of body fat rate reduction in the treatment of simple obesity with electroacupuncture.

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Source: PubMed

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