The effects of acupoint catgut embedding therapy on anthropometric parameters and endocrine function in obese women: a systematic review and meta-analysis

作者：Shun Li, Hongfei Zhou, Muhan Zhou, Lixuan Lou, Li Luo, Shan Ji · 发表于：Frontiers in Nutrition · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3389/fnut.2025.1583556 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Acupuncture Treatment Research Studies、Healthcare and Venom Research、Leech Biology and Applications

Purpose This study aimed to assess the effect of acupoint catgut embedding therapy (ACET) on anthropometric parameters and endocrine function in obese women through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods A comprehensive search was conducted across international and Chinese databases [CNKI, Wanfang, Weipu, Sinomed, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science (WOS), and Scopus]. The search terms included “female,” “women,” “catgut implantation at acupoint,” “catgut embedding,” “acupoint embedding therapy,” “obesity,” “adiposity,” and “body weight,” etc. Studies included in this analysis were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effects of ACET on obesity indicators such as body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), lipid profiles such as triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and hormone levels such as luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone (T), and estradiol (E2). We used ROB 2.0 to assess the risk of bias. Data was analyzed using weighted mean differences (WMD) and risk ratios (RR) to measure effect sizes, and heterogeneity was assessed using I 2 statistics. Conduct sensitivity analysis, publication bias testing, and subgroup analysis on indicators with high heterogeneity to explore the sources of heterogeneity. Results Twenty-three studies involving over 2,000 obese women were included. Risk of bias assessment revealed generally low bias...