Efficacy of acupuncture for simple obesity complicated with hyperlipidaemia: Analysis of 1330 cases

AIM: To observe the clinical effects of acupuncture in the treatment of simple obesity complicated with hyperlipidaemia and analyze the factors that influence therapeutic effects.

METHODS: A total of 1330 patients with simple obesity complicated with hyperlipidaemia were included. The changes in obesity index, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were observed before and 3 mo after treatment. The influence of syndrome, age, gender, obesity degree, obesity course and etiology on efficacy was analyzed.

RESULTS: After treatment, 46 (3.46%) cases had complete remission, 681 (51.20%) cases showed significant improvement, 457 (34.36%) cases showed improvement, and 146 (10.98%) cases had no response. The total response rate was 89.09%. Both obesity index and serum lipid indexes were significantly improved. There were significant negative correlations between syndrome, patient age, obesity degree, obesity course and efficacy. Patients with stomach-intestine dryness-heat type got the best efficacy, and the total response rate was 94.40%. The total response rate was better in male patients, younger patients, and moderately obese patients than female patients, elder patients, and severely obese patients, respectively. With regard to etiology, the best therapeutic effect was achieved in patients caused by emotion factors (total effective rate, 97.52%), followed by those caused by sedentary lifestyle and genetic factors.

CONCLUSION: Acupuncture for simple obesity complicated with hyperlipidaemia has good efficacy. Syndrome, patient age, obesity degree, and obesity course are closely related to efficacy.