Mental Health Profiles in Community Acupuncture Clinics in Japan: A Multicenter Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The mental health status of patients attending acupuncture clinics in Japan remains poorly understood. Objective: To characterize mental health profiles of individuals attending acupuncture clinics across Japan. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Ten rural and urban acupuncture clinics in Japan (October 26, 2021–March 31, 2023). Patients: Adults who completed electronic surveys covering demographic, clinical, and mental health information. Intervention: None. Main Outcome Measures: Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Himorogi Self-Rating Depression Scale (HSDS). Participants were classified into NV-LD, NV-HD, PV-LD, and PV-HD (NV, no psychiatric visit; PV, psychiatric visit; LD, low HSDS band; HD, high HSDS band). Results: Of 470 participants, 51.1% were classified as NV-LD, 36.2% as NV-HD, 3.4% as PV-LD, and 9.3% as PV-HD. After false discovery rate correction, age, anxiety symptom scores, and perceived financial status differed significantly among the four groups. Occupational distribution and motivations for seeking acupuncture did not meet the prespecified significance threshold. Among those receiving psychiatric outpatient care, no diagnostic category, treatment-history item, illness-duration distribution, or treatment-satisfaction measure differed between PV-LD and PV-HD. Thirteen of 22 non-musculoskeletal symptoms differed among groups; the median symptom count was highest in PV-HD (4.5 [interquartile range, 3.0–7.0]), followed by NV-HD (3.0 [2.0–4.0]). Conclusions: This exploratory multicenter study identified heterogeneous self-reported mental health and symptom profiles in community acupuncture clinics in Japan. A substantial subgroup had elevated depressive symptoms without current psychiatric care, and participants in higher HSDS bands generally reported more non-musculoskeletal complaints. However, interpretation is limited by self-report, selective participation, and the cross-sectional design. Registration: None.