Evidence mapPaperPMID 42539596Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in psychiatry2026

Pharmacotherapy, acupoint stimulation, and psychotherapy for perimenopausal women with anxiety, depression, and panic disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Jiamei Zhuang, Yan Zhou, Guangbin Yu, Honghui Cheng, Xiong Chen, Rui Qian

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Jiamei ZhuangThe Seventh Clinical College of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen Bao'an Chinese Medicine Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Yan ZhouThe Seventh Clinical College of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen Bao'an Chinese Medicine Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Guangbin YuClinical Medical College of Acupuncture Moxibustion and Rehabilitation, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Honghui ChengThe Seventh Clinical College of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen Bao'an Chinese Medicine Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Xiong ChenClinical Medical College of Acupuncture Moxibustion and Rehabilitation, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Rui QianThe Seventh Clinical College of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen Bao'an Chinese Medicine Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Perimenopausal women frequently experience physiological and psychological symptoms, including anxiety, depression, and panic disorders, mainly due to declining ovarian function and hormonal changes. Current options include pharmacotherapy, acupoint stimulation (AcuStim), and psychotherapy (psych), but their comparative efficacy and safety remain controversial. Objective: This network meta-analysis (NMA) systematically compared pharmacotherapy, AcuStim, and psychotherapy for perimenopausal anxiety, depression, and panic disorder, assessing clinical efficacy, adverse events (AEs), and changes in the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA), Kupperman Index (KI), Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and serum hormone levels. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and SinoMed from inception to June 14, 2026, for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). A Bayesian NMA was performed, and the Surface Under the Cumulative Ranking Curve (SUCRA) was calculated. Results: The study included 131 RCTs, encompassing 11457 perimenopausal women diagnosed with emotional disorders. These trials evaluated three distinct treatment strategies. The NMA showed that the highest SUCRA probabilities were observed for drug_psych across HAMD (SUCRA = 92.4%), KI (SUCRA = 97.9%), SDS (SUCRA = 94.5%), PSQI (SUCRA = 98.1%), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) (SUCRA = 96.1%) reduction and estradiol (E2) (SUCRA = 0.1%) elevation; for AcuStim_psych (SUCRA = 93.7%) in HAMA reduction; for psych (SUCRA = 98.9%) in SAS reduction; for drug_AcuStim in clinical efficacy (SUCRA = 9.0%) and luteinizing hormone (LH) reduction (SUCRA = 100%); and for control (SUCRA = 65.5%) in safety outcomes. In pharmacotherapy subgroup analyses, antidepressants (ADs)_Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) ranked highest for HAMD (SUCRA = 87.2%) and safety (SUCRA = 82%), ADs_antipsychotics (AP) (SUCRA = 97.5%) for HAMA, and ADs_hormone replacement therapy (HRT) (SUCRA = 10.2%) for clinical efficacy. Conclusion: Pharmacological, acupoint stimulation, and psychological interventions each demonstrated therapeutic benefits for perimenopausal women with emotional disorders. Combination therapies generally showed more favorable efficacy across multiple psychological and endocrine outcomes than single-modality interventions, while no single treatment strategy was consistently superior across all outcomes. These findings may provide evidence to support individualized treatment selection according to patients' clinical characteristics and therapeutic goals. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD420261340530.

Indexed as

acupoint stimulationanxietydepressionpanic disorderperimenopausepharmacotherapypsychotherapy

Identifiers

PMID42539596
PMCPMC13423873

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.