Table 1.

General characteristics of eligible trials.

Study	Country	No. of patients (T/C)	Age (yr, T/C); range (yr)	Gender (male; T/C)	Intervention (ACE)	Control (sham ACE)	Outcomes	Follow-up
Chen 2018[29]	China (Taiwan)	40/40	T:39.9 ± 9.8; C:43.7 ± 9.3 Range: 20–65	0/0	Once weekly for 6 wk	Once weekly for 6 wk	① ② ③ ④ ⑥	6wk
Chen 2022[17]	China	108/108	T:31.66 ± 6.55; C:30.75 ± 6.71 Range: 18–45	28/23	Once per 2wk for 16 wk	Once per 2wk for 16 wk	① ② ③ ⑤ ⑥	16 wk
Lin 2015[30]	China	29/27	T:36.38 ± 10.08; C:34.30 ± 10.13 Range: 18–60	14/19	Once per 2 wk for 8 wk	Once per 2 wk for 8 wk	① ② ④ ⑤	8 wk
Tan 2016[31]	China	58/54	T:42.14 ± 11.83; C:39.13 ± 11.13 Range: 22–65	5/3	Once weekly for 4 wk	Once weekly for 4 wk	① ② ④	4 wk
Wan 2022[32]	China	68/63	T:34 ± 4; C:34 ± 4 Range: 18–50	28/23	Once per 2 wk for 12 wk	Once per 2 wk for 12 wk	② ④ ⑤ ⑥	12 wk
Zhang 2019[33]	China	42/42	T:33.05 ± 6.60; C:36.17 ± 9.71 Range: 18–60	14/19	Once per 10 d for 12 wk	Once per 10 d for 12 wk	① ② ③ ④ ⑥	12 wk

① body weight; ② body mass index; ③ hip circumference; ④ waist circumference; ⑤ body fat percentage; ⑥ occurrence rate of adverse events.

ACE = acupoint catgut embedding, C = control group, T = treatment group.