Berkhamsted Acupuncture research update: Acupuncture in premenstrual anxiety and depression

In this month’s issue of Acupuncture in Medicine, recent research from Brazil into the effect of acupuncture on the symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) has led to some interesting results.

The researchers conducted a trial of acupuncture  using a single blind randomised controlled trial. 30 volunteers with PMDD were assigned to either group 1, which received acupuncture, or group 2 which received sham acupuncture. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed using the Hamilton Anxiety and Hamilton Depression scales, and participants received acupuncture twice a week for two menstrual cycles so that each participant received 16 acupuncture treatments in total.

Before the intervention the anxiety and depression scores did not differ between groups. Following the intervention, the researchers reported that symptoms of anxiety and depression were reduced in both groups; but that the improvement was significant in group 1 compared to group 2. There was a mean reduction in anxiety scores of 58.9% in group 1 and 21.2% in group 2. The reduction in the mean depression scores were 52.0% in group 1 and 19.6% in group 2.

You can find full details of the trial here:

Acupuncture for premenstrual anxiety and depression