ReviewCNS neuroscience & therapeutics2012
Acupuncture for anxiety.
Review in CNS neuroscience & therapeutics, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 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
32 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 101 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of acupuncture on somatic symptom disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Acupuncture and related therapies for anxiety and depression in patients with premature ovarian insufficiency and diminished ovarian reserve: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Effect of Acupuncture Treatment on the Ocular Pain, Mental State and Ocular Surface Characteristics of Patients with Dry Eye Disease: A Non-Randomized Pilot Study.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024Trial
- Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Anxiety Among Patients With Parkinson Disease: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2022Trial
- Quality of life, sense of coherence and experiences with three different treatments in patients with psychological distress in primary care: a mixed-methods study.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2015Trial
- Six-month effects of integrative treatment, therapeutic acupuncture and conventional treatment in alleviating psychological distress in primary care patients--follow up from an open, pragmatic randomized controlled trial.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2014Trial
- Acupuncture for functional dyspepsia: study protocol for a two-center, randomized controlled trial.Trials · 2014Trial
- Effects of an integrative treatment, therapeutic acupuncture and conventional treatment in alleviating psychological distress in primary care patients--a pragmatic randomized controlled trial.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2013Trial
- Acupuncture and physical exercise for affective symptoms and health-related quality of life in polycystic ovary syndrome: secondary analysis from a randomized controlled trial.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2013Trial
- Electroacupuncture for trigeminal neuralgia with anxiety disorders: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Comparative Evaluation of Acupressure, Aromatherapy, and Stress Ball Efficacy in Reduction of Anxiety Levels in Children during Prophylactic and Restorative Procedures.International journal of clinical pediatric dentistry · 2025Article
- Article
- Acupuncture treatment is associated with a decreased risk of dementia in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Taiwan: A propensity-score matched cohort study.Integrative medicine research · 2024Article
- The regulative role and mechanism of BNST in anxiety disorder.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Review
- Efficacy and underlying mechanisms of acupuncture therapy for PTSD: evidence from animal and clinical studies.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2023Review
- Efficacy of manual acupuncture vs. placebo acupuncture for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in perimenopausal women: a randomized, single-blinded controlled trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Chemical Composition and Potential Properties in Mental Illness (Anxiety, Depression and Insomnia) of Agarwood Essential Oil: A Review.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Acupuncture in the treatment of Dry Eye Syndrome with anxiety symptoms. A case report.European journal of translational myology · 2022Article
- Transporting Hydrogel via Chinese Acupuncture Needles for Lesion Positioning Therapy.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2022Article
- Electroacupuncture Reduces Anxiety Associated With Inflammatory Bowel Disease By Acting on Cannabinoid CB1 Receptors in the Ventral Hippocampus in Mice.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This review aims to examine the volume and quality of the evidence base which supports the use of acupuncture in the treatment of anxiety disorders. A literature review was conducted using Pubmed, Google scholar, AMED, BMJ, Embase, Psychinfo, Cochrane library, Ingenta connect, and Cinahl databases. Keywords were "anxiety,""anxious,""panic,""stress,""phobia," and "acupuncture" limited to year 2000 onwards and English language where available. The quality of research examining the use of acupuncture in the treatment of anxiety disorders is extremely variable. There is enormous variety regarding points used, number of points used in a session, duration of sessions, frequency of treatment and duration of treatment programme. While the generally poor methodological quality, combined with the wide range of outcome measures used, number and variety of points, frequency of sessions, and duration of treatment makes firm conclusions difficult. Against this, the volume of literature, consistency of statistically significant results, wide range of conditions treated and use of animal test subjects suggests very real, positive outcomes using a treatment method preferred by a population of individuals who tend to be resistant to conventional medicine.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion 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 OpenQuestion graph.