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Efficacy of Electro-acupuncture for Abdominal Obesity: Study for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Obesity, Abdominal
Interventions
Device: Sham electro-acupuncture
Device: Electro-acupuncture
Registration Number
NCT04957134
Lead Sponsor
Hubei Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Brief Summary

Electro-acupuncture provides stimulation to acupoints, and has been widely used to treat abdominal obesity in China despite of lack of high-level evidence for treatment efficacy. The study will investigate whether the electroacupuncture can alleviate clinical symptoms and the mechanism of action in patients with abdominal obesity.

Detailed Description

The study will be a randomized controlled trial from May 2021 to December 2022, including 68 participants with abdominal obesity. The participants will be randomly divided into 2 groups in a 1:1 allocation ratio.The intervention group will receive electroacupuncture; the control group will receive sham acupuncture. Each treatment will last 12 weeks, including 8 weeks of intervention period and 24 weeks of follow-up. The primary outcome is the waist circumference (WC), the secondary outcomes include weight, body mass index (BMI), hipline, waist-hip-ratio (WHR), Insulin resistance index (IRI), blood fat, metabolomics will be used analysis the mechanism. The adverse events will be recorded during the intervention and follow-up period.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
66
Inclusion Criteria
  • Patients recruited for this study should meet the following inclusion criteria:

    1.Satisfying the criteria for the diagnosis of abdominal obesity; 2.18 years old≤age≤55 years old; 3.Being able to fully understand and voluntarily sign informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria
  • Patients with any of the following criteria will be excluded from the study:

    1. Presence of endocrine disorders such as: polycystic ovary syndrome; Cushing's syndrome; uncorrected thyroid disease.
    2. Presence of diabetes mellitus, or hypertension, or abnormal liver and kidney functions, or mental diseases.
    3. Pregnant or lactating state, women who plan to become pregnant within 12 weeks.
    4. History of bulimia, anorexia, or any other eating disorders.
    5. Use of medications in the past 3 months, such as diet drugs, corticosteroids, antidepressants, which may affect weight or appetite.
    6. History of surgical weight loss, postoperative adhesions.
    7. History of participating in a clinical study of weight loss or any other therapies to lose weight in the past 3 months.
    8. Unable to cooperate with the research caused by other diseases or reasons.
    9. Received acupuncture within 6 months before enrollment

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Sham electro-acupunctureSham electro-acupunctureParticipants will receive the treatment of sham electro-acupuncture 3 times a week to fulfill a 8-session treatment course, A superficial skin penetration (2-3 mm in depth) at nonacupoints will be performed in the sham acupuncture group, without needle manipulation for De qi. The internal output power cord of the electrical acupuncture stimulation instrument is interrupted.
Electro-acupunctureElectro-acupunctureParticipants will receive electro-acupuncture combined with lifestyle intervention. Participants will receive the treatment of electroacupuncture 3 times a week to fulfill a 8-session treatment course.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change from baseline waistline at 8 weeks.week 0,week 4,week 8,week 20,week 32

Waistline will be measured around the abdomen at the level of the umbilicus (belly button).

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change from baseline body weight at 8 weeks.week 0,week 4,week 8,week 20,week 32

Body weight will be measured by a body composition analyzer (OMRON V.BODY).

Change from baseline body mass index at 8 weeks.week 0,week 4,week 8,week 20,week 32

Body Mass Index is a simple calculation using a person's height and weight. The formula is BMI = kg/m2 where kg is a person's weight in kilograms and m2 is their height in metres squared.

Change from baseline hip circumference at 8 weeks.week 0,week 4,week 8,week 20,week 32

Hip circumference will be measured at the level of maximum posterior extension of the buttocks.

Change from baseline waist-to-hip ratio at 8 weeks.week 0,week 4,week 8,week 20,week 32

Waist-to-hip ratio is the dimensionless ratio of the circumference of the waist to that of the hips. This is calculated as waist measurement divided by hip measurement ( W ÷ H ).

Changes from baseline insulin resistance index at 8 weeks.week 0, week 8

Examined with the blood sample.

Changes from baseline blood fat at 8 weeks.week 0, week 8

Examined with the blood sample.

Changes from baseline the Kessler 10 scale at 8weeks.week 0,week 8,week 32

10 item self-report measure of psychological distress with five response categories (none of the time, a little of the time, some of the time, most of the time, all of the time). Scores range from 10 to 50; a higher score indicates more psychological distress.

Changes from baseline blood pressure at 8 weeksweek 0,week 4,week 8,week 32

Both Systolic and diastolic blood pressure assessed by office and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring(mmHg).

Changes from baseline the IWQOL - Lite scale score at 8 weeksweek 0,week 8,week 32

Quality of life was examined using the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life (IWQOL) questionnaire, which has a score range from 0(worst) to 100(best).

Change from baseline the body fat percentage at 8 weeks.week 0,week 8,week 32

The body fat percentage (BFP) of a human or other living being is the total mass of fat divided by total body mass, multiplied by 100. Body fat percentage will be measured by a body composition analyzer (OMRON V.BODY).

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Hubei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine

🇨🇳

Wuhan, Hubei, China

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