Electro-acupuncture for central obesity: randomized, patient-assessor blinded, sham-controlled clinical trial protocol

BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies

Emily Yen Wong¹  Peihua Cao²  Linda L. D. Zhong³  Shipping Zhang³  Tsz Fung Lam³  Zhaoxiang Bian³  Xingyao Wu³  Ying Ping Wong³ 

[1] Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong;Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China;Hong Kong Chinese Medicine Study Centre, School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, 3/F, Jockey Club Chinese Medicine Building, 7 Baptist University Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, P. R. China;

关键词: Central obesity;    Electro-acupuncture;    Randomized controlled trial;    Efficacy and safety;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12906-021-03367-2

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundObesity is a common medical condition. Among all the classifications of obesity, central obesity is considered to be a significant threat on the health of individuals. Scientific researches have demonstrated that the accumulation of intra-abdominal fat is associated with higher metabolic and cardiovascular disease risks independently from Body Mass Index (BMI). Our previous research found that the combination of electro-acupuncture and auricular acupressure could significantly reduce the body weight and the BMI compared to sham control group.Methods/designThis is a patient-assessor blinded, randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial on electro-acupuncture for central obesity. One hundred sixty-eight participants with central obesity will be randomly assigned to two groups, which are the acupuncture group and the sham control group. The whole study duration will be 8-week treatment plus 8-week follow up. The primary outcome is the change in waist circumference before and after the treatment. The secondary outcomes include the changes in hip circumference, waist-to-hip circumference ratio, BMI and body fat percentage during the treatment and follow-up.ConclusionThe trial will evaluate the efficacy and safety of electro-acupuncture for central obesity compared with sham acupuncture. The study may provide the solid evidence of electro-acupuncture on central obesity in Hong Kong.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03815253,Registered 24 Jan 2019.

【 授权许可】

CC BY