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Meta-Analysis
. 2022 Oct 28;101(43):e31148.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000031148.

Efficacy of acupuncture and moxibustion therapy for simple obesity in adults: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Yu Yin  1   2   3 , Qi Zhao  1   2 , Shuying Li  1   2   3 , Hailun Jiang  1   2   3 , Chunsheng Yin  1   2   3 , Hao Chen  1   2   3 , Yi Zhang  1   2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Efficacy of acupuncture and moxibustion therapy for simple obesity in adults: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Yu Yin et al. Medicine (Baltimore). .

Abstract

Background: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of acupuncture and moxibustion therapy compared to non-acupuncture therapy in the treatment of simple obesity in adult.

Methods: Randomized clinical trials concerning acupuncture and moxibustion therapy as a treatment of simple adult obesity were searched in the following Chinese and English databases: Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Science and Technology Journal Database, WanFang Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Medline and Cochrane Library. Two researchers independently screened suitable literature according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data, and evaluated the quality of included studies using the Jadad score scale. After that, data analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4.1 software, Stata 17.0 software and SPSS 25.0 software.

Results: A total of 14 studies involving 1116 adults with simple obesity were included in the meta-analysis. Results revealed that BMI, body weight, waist circumference, total effective rate, triglyceride in the acupuncture group were superior to those in the non-acupuncture group, while there was no statistical difference in improving low density lipoprotein, high density lipoprotein and total cholesterol. As to the selection of acupoints, the acupoints of the stomach meridian of Foot Yangming have the highest frequency of use, with a frequency of 30 times, accounting for 35%. The acupoints can be divided into three clusters: the first category: RN9-SP9-SP6-RN4; the second category: ST40-RN6-SP15-ST36; the third category: ST25-RN12.

Conclusion: Acupuncture and moxibustion is effective in treating adult simple obesity; however, due to the low score of the included studies, we still expect the results of higher-quality literature to provide a higher-level evidence-based basis for clinical decision-making. Furthermore, for the treatment of adult simple obesity, acupoints analysis revealed that Tianshu (ST25), Zhongwan (RN12), Zusanli (ST36), Fenglong (ST40) and Qihai (RN6) can form the basis for the treatment of simple obesity in adult.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Literature screening flow chart.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Bias risk table for included studies.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Risk assessment tables for each study included in the study.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Forest map of body mass index.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Forest plot of body weight.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Forest plot of total effective rate.
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
Waist circumference forest map.
Figure 8.
Figure 8.
Forest map of triglyceride.
Figure 9.
Figure 9.
Forest map of low density lipoprotein.
Figure 10.
Figure 10.
High-density lipoprotein forest map.
Figure 11.
Figure 11.
Forest map of total cholesterol.
Figure 12.
Figure 12.
Publication bias funnel plot and Egger test plot.
Figure 13.
Figure 13.
Icicle map of acupoints.
Figure 14.
Figure 14.
Genealogy of acupoints.
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