Acupuncture for depression during pregnancy
Researchers from Stanford University, in California report it reduced symptoms.
First, the details.
- 150 pregnant women with major depressive disorder were randomly assigned to a treatment group for 8 weeks (12 sessions).
- Acupuncture specific for depression
- Control acupuncture
- Massage
- Junior acupuncturists, who were not told about the treatment assignment, needled participants at points prescribed by senior acupuncturists.
- All treatments were standardized.
- The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression was administered by masked raters at the start and after 4 and 8 weeks of treatment.
And, the results.
- Women who received acupuncture for depression experienced a significantly greater decrease in symptom severity compared to the other groups.
- They also had significantly greater response rate vs the other groups.
- There was no difference in symptom reduction and response in the control and massage groups.
The bottom line?
The short acupuncture protocol provided a reduction in symptoms reduction.
The authors tell us that the response rate was “comparable to those observed in standard depression treatments of similar length and could be a viable treatment option for depression during pregnancy.”
These study results differ from the findings in a Cochrane review published 2 years ago where the authors concluded, “The evidence is inconclusive to allow us to make any recommendations for massage therapy or depression-specific acupuncture for the treatment of antenatal (during pregnancy) depression.”
3/17/10 21:07 JR