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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2018 May 29:2018:5351210.
doi: 10.1155/2018/5351210. eCollection 2018.

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

Sheng Li  1   2 , Zhao-Feng Li  1 , Qian Wu  1   3 , Xiao-Chuan Guo  1 , Zhen-Hua Xu  1 , Xiao-Bin Li  4 , Rong Chen  4 , Dao-You Zhou  5 , Cong Wang  6 , Quan Duan  1 , Jian Sun  1 , Ding Luo  1 , Min-Ying Li  1 , Jun-Ling Wang  7 , Hui Xie  8 , Li-Hua Xuan  9 , Sheng-Yong Su  10 , Dong-Mian Huang  11 , Zhi-Shun Liu  12 , Wen-Bin Fu  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

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

Sheng Li et al. Biomed Res Int. .

Abstract

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.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study flow diagram. EA means electroacupuncture treatment; ES means escitalopram treatment.
Figure 2
Figure 2
HAMD-17 score and MENQOL score at baseline and weeks 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24. Error bars represent standard error. EA means electroacupuncture treatment; ES means escitalopram treatment.
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