As a common mental disorder, depression is one of the leading causes of disability around the world. Clinical studies have shown that acupuncture is an effective therapy without obvious side effects compared to limited efficacy and adverse reactions of drug therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and neuromodulation technology in treating depression. The objective of this review is to systematically evaluate whether acupuncture therapies for depression are safe and effective in order to provide a high-quality reference for clinical trials of acupuncture. A systematic search of the literature was carried out through bibliographic search engine PubMed. Subsequently, the study design, intervention methods, control group, results, and safety of acupuncture were analyzed. The results showed that acupuncture as an adjunct to antidepressants or as a single treatment can exert a positive impact on patients' depressive symptoms. Compared with antidepressants, acupuncture has the advantages of fast onset and long-term efficacy in the treatment of depression, and can enhance the efficacy of antidepressants. Moreover, the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of depression maybe related to the qualification of the acupuncturist, the selection of acupoints, and intervention measures.
摘要: 抑郁症是一种影响患者思想、行为及躯体的常见精神疾病，是全球致残的主要原因之一。药物疗法、认知行为疗法和神经调控技术是抑郁症的常规治疗方法，但这些方法疗效有限，容易引发不良反应。临床研究表明，针刺是一种有效治疗精神疾病的方法，且没有明显的副作用。本文的目的是系统评价针刺疗法治疗抑郁症是否安全有效及针刺干预措施对疗效的影响，以期为开展高质量的针刺临床试验提供参考。我们使用 PubMed 对文献进行了系统检索。对研究的结果和安全性进行分析。结果显示，针刺无论是作为抗抑郁药的辅助疗法还是单一疗法， 其对患者的抑郁症状改善均有积极作用。与抗抑郁药相比，针刺治疗抑郁症具有起效快，疗效持久的优势，并且可增强抗抑郁药物疗效。此外，针刺抗抑郁的疗效和安全性可能与针刺操作者的资质、穴位选取及干预措施等因素有关。.
Keywords: acupuncture; clinical trial; depression; systematic review; traditional Chinese medicine; 中医学; 临床试验; 抑郁症; 系统综述; 针刺.
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