Acupuncture on Obesity: Clinical Evidence and Possible Neuroendocrine Mechanisms

Table 1

Characteristics of the included studies.

Included studies	Country	Number of participants; Trial Control		Interventions Trial Control		Basic treatment	Duration of treatment; (week)	Adverse reactions	Outcomes
Darbandi; et al., 2012 [9]	Iran	43	43	Auricular acupressure	Sham auricular	Low-calorie diet	6	None	BW, BMI, BFM, plasma leptin
Darbandi; et al., 2013 [10]	Iran	42	44	Electro-acupuncture	Sham acupuncture	Low-calorie diet	6	None	BM, BMI, BFM, plasma leptin
Darbandi; et al., 2014 [11]	Iran	20/20	20/20	Body electro-acupuncture/ Auricular acupuncture	Sham body electro-acupuncture/ sham Auricular acupuncture	Low-calorie diet	6	None	Height, WHR, BMI, trunk fat mass, Cr, Albumin, Uric acid, FBS, HLD-c, LDL-c, WBC, RBC
Gucel; et al., 2012 [12]	Turkey	20	20	Body acupuncture	Sham acupuncture	None	5	Not reported	Weight, BMI, insulin, leptin, ghrelin, cholecystokinin
Han-1, 2016 [13]	China	36	37	Body electro-acupuncture	No treatment	Dietary and exercise	4	2 Subcutaneous bleeding and hematoma	BMI, WC, hip circumference, WHR and spleen dampness improve the situation of symptom score
Han-2, 2016 [13]	China	40	41	Body electro-acupuncture	No treatment	Dietary and exercise	4	3 Subcutaneous bleeding and hematoma	BMI, WC, hip circumference, WHR and spleen dampness improve the situation of symptom score
He; et al., 2008 [14]	China	40	40	Body electro-acupuncture + Auricular acupuncture	Sibutramine	None	8	No reported	Body weight, BMI, waist and hip circumference and WHR
Hsu; et al., 2009 [15]	Taiwan	23	22	Auricular acupuncture	Shame auricular acupuncture	None	6	1 Minor inflammation, 8 mild tenderness	Body weight, BMI, WC, obesity-related hormone peptides
Hung; et al., 2016 [16]	Taiwan	32	30	Verum laser acupuncture	Sham laser acupuncture	None	3	None	BMI, BFP, waist-to-buttock ratio
Kim; et al., 2014 [17]	Korea	25	24	Auricular acupressure	No treatment	None	4	None	Weight, BMI, body fat mass percentage, WHR
Lien; et al., 2012 [18]	Taiwan	48	23	Auricular stimulation	Sham auricular acupuncture	None	8	1 dizziness	BMI, weight, obesity-related hormone peptids, life quality scores
Luo, 2006 [19]	China	40	20	Electro-acupuncture / only acupuncture	No treatment	None	3	Not reported	WHR, MBI, TC, TG, HDL-c, LDL-c, LEP, Adiponectin(ADI)
Nourshahi; et al., 2009 [20]	Iran	9	9	Acupuncture	No treatment/diet and exercise	Diet and exercise	8	Not reported	Body weight, skin fold thickness, BMI, fat mass
Tong, 2011 [21]	China	76	42	Acupuncture	Placebo-acupuncture	Diet	5	None	BMI, TC, TG, Glucose, BUN, Uric Acid and adverse reactions
Xing, 2009 [22]	China	31	30	Electroacupuncture	Diet and exercise	Diet and exercise	8	No reported	Body weight, BMI, TG, TC, LDL-c, HDL-c, WHR, Leptin
Xiong; et al., 2016 [23]	China	29	21	Acupuncture	Exercise	None	4	No reported	Body weight, BMI
Yeh; et al., 2015 [24]	Taiwan	36	34	Auricular electrical stimulation +auricular acupressure	Same manner but at sham acupoints	Diet	10	No reported	BMI, blood pressure, TC, TG, Leptin, Adiponectin
Yeo; et al., 2014 [25]	Korean	43	15	Ear acupuncture	Sham acupuncture	None	8	No reported	BMI, WC, weight, body fat mass (kg), percentage body fat and blood pressure
Zhang; et al., 2012 [26]	China	15	15	Electro-acupuncture	Sham Electro-acupuncture	None	4	1 Bleeding	Weight, BMI, body fat mass %
Zhang, 2012 [27]	China	29	28	Catgut embedded	No treatment	Diet and exercise	8	The bleeding rate was 18.75% in treatment group	Weight, BMI, waistline, hipline, circumference, quality of life
Zhao; et al., 2011 [28]	China	35	35	Electro-acupuncture	Sham Electro-acupuncture	None	4	No reported	BMI, Weight
Zhao, 2010 [29]	China	30	30	Electro-acupuncture	Diet and exercise	Diet and exercise	8	No reported	BMI, waist, FBS, 2hPG, FINS, 2hFINS