1. Laser Acupuncture versus Liraglutide in Treatment of Obesity: A Multi-Institutional Retrospective Cohort Study.
- Author
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Yu, Wen-Lin, Liao, Yu-Ning, Yang, Tsung-Hsien, Yang, Ching-Wei, Kao, Ting-I, Lee, Pai-Wei, Hsu, Chiu-Yi, Huang, Jhen-Ling, Huang, Yu-Tung, and Chen, Hsing-Yu
- Subjects
OBESITY treatment ,GLUCAGON-like peptide-1 agonists ,WEIGHT loss ,PEARSON correlation (Statistics) ,REPEATED measures design ,BODY mass index ,DATA analysis ,RESEARCH funding ,BODY weight ,SEX distribution ,ACUPUNCTURE ,TREATMENT effectiveness ,RETROSPECTIVE studies ,HOSPITALS ,CHI-squared test ,AGE distribution ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,LASER therapy ,LONGITUDINAL method ,RESEARCH ,MEDICAL records ,ACQUISITION of data ,ANALYSIS of variance ,STATISTICS ,COMPARATIVE studies ,CONFIDENCE intervals ,DATA analysis software ,EVALUATION - Abstract
Background: Obesity is a global concern, driving the search for alternative treatments beyond lifestyle changes and medications. Laser acupuncture (LA) shows promise in obesity management, yet few studies compare it with FDA-approved medications. This study aimed to assess and compare LA's impact with liraglutide on weight reduction in obese individuals. Methods: Data from the Chang Gung Research Database (CGRD) (2013–2018) were analyzed. Primary outcomes included changes in body weight and BMI within 180 days, with secondary outcomes measuring the proportion achieving 5%, 10%, and 15% weight loss. Adverse events were also assessed. Results: Of 745 subjects (173 LA users, 572 liraglutide users), LA users lost more weight by day 180 (5.82 ± 4.39 vs. 2.38 ± 5.75 kg; p < 0.001) and had a greater BMI reduction (−2.27 ± 1.73 vs. −0.93 ± 2.25 kg/m
2 ; p < 0.001). More LA users achieved 5% and 10% weight loss compared to liraglutide users (64.2% vs. 22.7%, 26.6% vs. 4.2%; all p < 0.001). After balancing baseline differences, LA's benefits remained significant. No adverse events were reported with LA. Conclusions: LA may offer superior weight reduction compared to liraglutide. Future studies should explore LA alone or in combination with liraglutide for obesity management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2024
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