Acupuncture for Patients With Major Depressive Disorder: An Evidence Map of Randomized Controlled Trials, Systematic Reviews, and Clinical Guidelines
Evidence from RCTs, SRs, and clinical guidelines suggests that acupuncture may reduce depressive symptom severity and provide additional benefits for patients with comorbid anxiety, sleep disturbances, or somatic symptoms, particularly when used as an adjunctive therapy. However, these findings are mainly based on small-scale trials with methodological limitations, and most guidelines recommend acupuncture only as a third-line complementary option. Further large, high-quality RCTs are needed to strengthen the evidence base and inform future guideline development.
Authors
- Hong Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8069-9901)
- Xiaoyi Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9497-3473)
- Yi Gou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2900-4983)
- Wei-Juan Gang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2073-3167)
- Han Tang
- Zhen Luo
Institutions
- Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College (CN)
- Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (CN)
- Shenzhen Pingle Orthopedic Hospital (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Brain and Behavior
- Published
- 2025-11-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.71075
- Primary Topic
- Acupuncture Treatment Research Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences
- Sanming Project of Medicine in Shenzhen
- National Key Research and Development Program of China