A small randomised, controlled study undertaken by Brazilian researchers, suggests that acupuncture helps premenstrual depression and anxiety. Thirty volunteers diagnosed with the symptoms were randomly assigned to receive either acupuncture or sham acupuncture as a control, twice a week for two menstrual cycles, giving a total of sixteen treatments per participant.
At the end of the treatment period, symptoms of anxiety and depression in both groups had reduced, but in the acupuncture group, the reductions were significantly greater. Mean anxiety scores in the acupuncture group reduced by 59%, compared with 21% in the sham group. Mean depression scores in the acupuncture group reduced by 52%, compared with 20% in the sham group.
(Effects of acupuncture on the symptoms of anxiety and depression caused by premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Acupuncture in Medicine, on-line September 2013.)