ReviewEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2020
Effectiveness and Safety of Acupuncture for Perimenopausal Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Review in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- A meta-analysis on the incidence rate of depression in Chinese menopausal women.BMC psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Acupuncture as an Independent or Adjuvant Management to Standard Care for Perimenopausal Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Meta-analysis on the efficacy of liver-soothing formulas for perimenopausal anxiety and depression.World journal of psychiatry · 2026Article
- Association between changes in estradiol, serotonin, and BDNF and antidepressant response in perimenopausal depression: a retrospective cohort study comparing integrated TCM-acupuncture with SSRIs.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Cochrane reviews of acupuncture are dated, do not account for the specific effects of sham controls and likely underestimate the efficacy of acupuncture therapy.Integrative medicine research · 2025Review
- Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of depressive disorders by integrating Chinese and Western medicine (English edition).General psychiatry · 2025Article
- Acupuncture: A Promising Approach for Comorbid Depression and Insomnia in Perimenopause.Nature and science of sleep · 2021Review
- Clinical Events Associated with Acupuncture Intervention for the Treatment of Chronic Inflammation Associated Disorders.Mediators of inflammation · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo determine the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for perimenopausal depression.
methodsWe searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, EMBASE, CNKI, VIP Citation Databases, Wan Fang, and online trial registries such as ClinicalTrials.gov for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for perimenopausal depression. Literature screening, data extraction, and determination of the risk of bias were performed by two researchers independently. The extracted data were pooled and meta-analyzed using RevMan5.3 software.
resultsIn total, 16 RCTs covering 1311 patients were enrolled. Overall, the results showed that acupuncture was more effective in the treatment of perimenopausal depression than antidepressants (OR = 2.68, 95% CI (1.84, 3.90),
conclusionsAcupuncture for perimenopausal depression is safe and effective. Moreover, it has more stable long-term effects than antidepressants and hormone replacement therapy (HRT). We recommend acupuncture as a clinical treatment of perimenopausal depression.
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.