Researchers at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in Iran, have found that acupuncture combined with medication for anxiety, produces significantly better treatment responses for the condition, than does medication alone. A total of 112 patients with anxiety were randomised to receive either selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) alone, or SSRIs plus sham acupuncture, or SSRIs plus true acupuncture. Treatments were administered to the three groups for four weeks, with 12 acupuncture sessions delivered at three per week.
By the end of the treatment period, anxiety scores differed significantly between the three groups, with the true acupuncture group exhibiting a significantly larger reduction compared with the other two groups.
(Additive effects of acupuncture in alleviating anxiety: A double-blind, three-arm, randomized clinical trial. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, November 2021.)