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Acupuncture Found to Help Lessen Depression Severity
Acupuncture is both clinically effective and cost-effective for treating depression, suggests a randomized controlled trial published in the United Kingdom’s National Institute for Health Research Journals Library.
The trial also found counseling to be effective, and cost-effective, if acupuncture is inappropriate or unavailable to patients.
“The front-line treatment for depression in primary care usually involves antidepressants,” said Hugh MacPherson, PhD, professor of acupuncture research at the University of York in England. “However, they do not work well for more than half of patients.”
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The study involved 755 patients with depression from northern England, half of whom were also experiencing pain. Researchers compared treatment with acupuncture or counseling with medication treatment.
Both acupuncture and counseling significantly reduced depression severity, researchers found. Improvements were mostly sustained for up to 12 months after treatment.
“In the largest study of its kind, we have now provided a solid evidence base to show that not only can acupuncture and counseling bring patients out of an episode of depression,” Dr. MacPherson said, “but it can keep the condition at bay for up to a year on average.”
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The new trial was included in a larger report on the effectiveness of acupuncture. In it, researchers also reported that acupuncture added to standard medical care significantly reduced the number of headaches and migraine attacks, reduced the severity of neck and lower back pain, and eased the pain and disability of osteoarthritis, in patients with chronic pain of the neck, lower back, head and knee. Those findings were based on a review of 29 high-quality clinical trials involving nearly 18,000 patients.
—Jolynn Tumolo
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