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

作者：Zhong, Linda L. D.^*; Wu, Xingyao; Lam, Tsz Fung; Wong, Ying Ping; Cao, Peihua; Wong, Emily Yen; Zhang, Shipping; Bian, Zhaoxiang^*

来源：BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, 2021, 21(1): 190.

DOI：10.1186/s12906-021-03367-2

• Central obesity
• Electro-acupuncture
• Randomized controlled trial
• Efficacy and safety

Background: Obesity 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/design: This 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. @@@ Conclusion: The 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.

• 单位
  南方医科大学