Acupuncture & Depression

In this short article, I shall explain something about what to expect when you seek acupuncture treatment for depression. In a survey published in 2006, of over 9000 acupuncture patients in the UK, 11% of them were presenting with psychological complaints; in many practices, depression represents a significant portion of this category. Additionally, the World Health Organisation predicted in 2008, that by 2020, depression will be second only to chronic heart disease as an international health burden. It is thus a common problem, and about two-thirds of adults will at some time experience depression severe enough to interfere with their normal activities.

Should you decide to come for acupuncture treatment, some of the most important aspects I shall be interested in learning about first are whether you have a history of depression previously, when and how it began (eg. identifiable events or disproportionate reactions thereto), and how it affects your daily life (eg. ability to work, family and social relationships etc). Your wider health is enormously important too: do you feel the depression is a reaction to the burden of chronic pain or to limitations imposed by some other medical problem, or might it even stem from medication used to control that problem? Have you had depression in the past which now seems to have recurred in response to a new health problem, a recent significant life event, or stressful circumstances?

Looking more widely still, I am interested in the full array of other symptoms which accompany your depression. These can encompass fatigue, poor concentration, sleep disturbance, appetite or weight changes, or feelings such as irritability, anger, anxiety, panic or guilt. I can then begin to re-frame the picture of your health from a Chinese medical perspective, and devise a plan of treatment. If it is practical, we can try to directly help obvious causes of your depression, such as stress or chronic pain. In other cases, the causes do not lend themselves to such an approach, in which case we just try to tackle the depression. Lifestyle advice can often be a particularly useful part of treatment: in Chinese medicine, the health of our physical body is considered important for our mental and spiritual health too. This gives our shen or spirit, a good home in which it can settle happily rooted.

Below you will find the results of recent research, some into acupuncture for depression, and some which hints at worthwhile self-help measures. Please do contact me if you would like to discuss anything further.

Acupuncture helps when Anti-Depressants do not

American researchers have completed a pilot study suggesting that acupuncture may be a useful adjunct to drug treatment in patients with depression, who are not responding to anti-depressant drugs alone.

Thirty patients (47% female and average age 48) with major depressive disorder, and partial or non-response to drug treatment after eight or more weeks, were given acupuncture for eight weeks, on either a weekly or twice-weekly basis. Twenty patients completed the study, and depression scores in both groups decreased significantly (18.5 to 11.5 on average). Response rates (defined as an improvement of 50% or more in depression score) were 47%. The authors concluded that acupuncture was safe, well-tolerated and effective, and may be useful in out-patient settings.

(A Pilot Study of Acupuncture Augmentation Therapy in Anti-Depressant Partial & Non-Responders with Major Depressive Disorder. Journal of Affect Disorders, April 2011.)

Acupuncture helps Depression

A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical studies looking at acupuncture treatment of various depressive conditions, has concluded that it is a safe and effective treatment for some forms of depression.

A total of 207 studies were examined, and 20 were deemed to be of sufficient quality to be subject to meta-analysis. The results showed that for major depressive disorders, acupuncture on its own is as effective as anti-depressant medication in improving symptom severity. For post-stroke depression, acupuncture was also found to be superior to anti-depressants, in improving response and symptom severity. Notably, the incidence of adverse events in acupuncture treatment, was significantly lower than with anti-depressants. (The Effectiveness and Safety of Acupuncture Therapy in Depressive Disorders: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal Affect Disord 2009 July 24. Epub ahead of print.)

Acupuncture effective for Depression

A meta-analysis of eight small randomised controlled trials, involving 477 patients and studying the effectiveness of acupuncture to treat depression, concluded that acupuncture was an effective treatment that could significantly reduce the severity of depression.

(Is Acupuncture Beneficial in Depression: A Meta-Analysis of Eight Randomised Controlled Trials? Journal of Affect Disord. 2008 Dec.)

Acupuncture effective for Depression

An analysis of eight small randomised controlled trials, involving 477 patients, suggests acupuncture is an effective treatment for depression, and could significantly reduce the severity of the disorder. (Is Acupuncture beneficial in Depression: A Meta-Analysis of Eight Randomised Controlled Trials? Journal of Affect Disord. 2008 June Epub ahead of print.)