A Multicenter, Randomized, Controlled Trial of Electroacupuncture for Perimenopause Women with Mild-Moderate Depression.

Author: Li S1,2, Li ZF1, Wu Q1,3, Guo XC1, Xu ZH1, Li XB4, Chen R4, Zhou DY5, Wang C6, Duan Q1, Sun J1, Luo D1, Li MY1, Wang JL7, Xie H8, Xuan LH9, Su SY10, Huang DM11, Liu ZS12, Fu WB1
Affiliation:
1Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
2Postdoctoral Mobile Station, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
3Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
4Department of Gynecology, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
5Department of Neurology, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
6Department of Traditional Therapy, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
7Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
8Department of Rehabilitation, Chenzhou No. 1 People's Hospital, Chenzhou, Hunan, China.
9Department of Acupuncture, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
10Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
11Department of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hainan Province, China.
12Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Guang'an Men Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
Conference/Journal: Biomed Res Int.
Date published: 2018 May 29
Other: Volume ID: 2018 , Pages: 5351210 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1155/2018/5351210. eCollection 2018. , Word Count: 237

Objective: Up to 62% of perimenopausal women have depression symptoms. However, there is no efficacy treatment. The aim of this study is to compare the clinical efficacy and safety of EA therapy and escitalopram on perimenopause women with mild-moderate depressive symptom.

Method: A multicenter, randomized, positive-controlled clinical trial was conducted at 6 hospitals in China. 242 perimenopause women with mild-moderate depressive symptom were recruited and randomly assigned to receive 36 sessions of EA treatment or escitalopram treatment. The primary outcome measure was the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17). The secondary outcome measures include menopause-specific quality of life (MENQOL) and serum sexual hormones which include estrogen, follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone.

Results: 221 (91.3%) completed the study, including 116 in the EA group and 105 in the escitalopram group. The baseline levels of demographic and outcome measurements were similar in the two groups. In the intervention period, there was no difference between two groups. However, in the follow-up, both HAMD-17 and MENQOL were significantly decreased, and at week 24 the mean differences were -2.23 and -8.97, respectively. There were no significant differences in the change of serum sexual hormones between the two groups. No serious adverse events occurred.

Conclusion: EA treatment is effective and safe in relieving depression symptom and improving the quality of life in the perimenopausal depression. Further research is needed to understand long-term efficacy and explore the mechanism of this intervention. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02423694.

PMID: 30003102 PMCID: PMC5996410 DOI: 10.1155/2018/5351210

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