Acupuncture for Depression: A Review of Clinical Applications

Abstract

While increasing numbers of patients are seeking acupuncture treatment for depression in recent years, there is limited evidence of the antidepressant (AD) effectiveness of acupuncture. Given the unsatisfactory response rates of many Food and Drug Administration- approved ADs, research on acupuncture remains of potential value. Therefore, we sought to review the efficacy and safety of acupuncture treatment for depression in clinical applications. We conducted a PubMed search for publications through 2011. We assessed the adequacy of each report and abstracted information on reported effectiveness or efficacy of acupuncture as monotherapy for major depressive disorder (MDD) and as augmentation of ADs. We also examined adverse events associated with acupuncture, and evidence for acupuncture as a means of reducing side effects of ADs. Published data suggest that acupuncture, including manual-, electrical-, and laser-based, is a generally beneficial, well-tolerated, and safe monotherapy for depression. However, acupuncture augmentation in AD partial responders and nonresponders is not as well studied as monotherapy; and available studies have only investigated MDD, but not other depressive spectrum disorders. Manual acupuncture reduced side effects of ADs in MDD. We found no data on depressive recurrence rates after recovery with acupuncture treatment. Acupuncture is a potential effective monotherapy for depression, and a safe, well-tolerated augmentation in AD partial responders and nonresponders. However, the body of evidence based on well-designed studies is limited, and further investigation is called for.

Building an Evidence Base in Complementary and Integrative Healthcare for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

“…Also, putative sham acupuncture procedures (eg, nonpenetrating needles) produce significant response rates when compared with nonacupuncture treatments, 53 or may be detected as different from real acupuncture if the patient has previous experience with acupuncture. 54 Children may be easier to blind, because they may be too young to understand the difference between active treatments and placebos and may be less concerned about what they are taking. Parents would need to be advised to not try to influence the child’s belief based on their own impressions.…”

Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) 2016 Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Adults with Major Depressive Disorder: Section 5. Complementary and Alternative Medicine Treatments

“…52 Acupuncture sessions may involve a variety of acupoints, are typically 20 to 30 minutes in duration, and range from 10 to 30 sessions, decreasing in frequency over time from daily to weekly intervals. 52 While several RCTs and meta-analyses supported acupuncture as both a beneficial monotherapy 53,54 and as adjunct treatment, 54-56 others did not find evidence of efficacy for acupuncture either alone or as an adjunct therapy 52,57 (Suppl. Table S5).…”

Electroacupuncture in Treating Residual Insomnia Associated With Depression: Lessons Learned

“…While some evidence supports acupuncture's effectiveness in treating insomnia [2][3][4][5] and in treating depression, [6][7][8] few studies have addressed acupuncture's efficacy in challenging situations where insomnia and depression coexist. 9 Residual insomnia from depression is resistant to a variety of treatments including medications and therapy.…”