SynthesisFrontiers in psychiatry2022
The Role of Acupuncture in the Management of Insomnia as a Major or Residual Symptom Among Patients With Active or Previous Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 4 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
13 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sleep and endocrine effects of acupuncture for insomnia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Mapping the research landscape of traditional Chinese medicine in insomnia management: a bibliometric study (2005-2024).Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Electroacupuncture for treating depression-related insomnia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Commercial Chinese polyherbal preparation Zao Ren An Shen prescription for primary insomnia: a systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Pooled it
- Acupuncture for comorbid depression and insomnia in perimenopause: A feasibility patient-assessor-blinded, randomized, and sham-controlled clinical trial.Frontiers in public health · 2023Trial
- Efficacy of acupuncture on glucocorticoid-induced insomnia: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial assessed by polysomnographic parameters and 5-HT.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Article
- Traditional Chinese medicine therapies for insomnia: An umbrella review and evidence map.Integrative medicine research · 2025Review
- Acupuncture for insomnia.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Article
- Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of depressive disorders by integrating Chinese and Western medicine (English edition).General psychiatry · 2025Article
- Reliability and validity of the Chinese Version of the Frequency, Intensity, and Burden of Side Effects Rating.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- The Pathogenesis and Treatment of Insomnia Combined with Depression.International journal of general medicine · 2025Review
- Exploring the transformative impact of traditional Chinese medicine on depression: Insights from animal models.World journal of psychiatry · 2024Review
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocol to Establish How Common Clinical Acupoint Stimulation-Related Therapies Should Be Used for Managing Insomnia.Journal of pain research · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Due to concerns about risks associated with antidepressants and/or hypnotics, complementary therapies such as acupuncture have been sought by patients with active or previous depression to manage insomnia. This systematic review aimed to clarify if acupuncture is effective and safe enough to be recommended as an alternative or adjuvant therapy to standard care in ameliorating concomitant or residual insomnia, two types of insomnia associated with depression. Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of depression-related insomnia (DI) treatment Results: Twenty-one studies involving 1,571 participants were analyzed. For insomnia as a major symptom of active depression, meta-analyses suggested that acupuncture significantly reduced the global scores of both the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) [MD = -3.12, 95% CI (-5.16, -1.08), Conclusions: There is a low to moderate level of evidence supporting acupuncture as a safe and effective remedy alternative to or adjuvant to conventional pharmacotherapy (antidepressant and/or hypnotic) in improving insomnia and other depression symptoms among patients with active depression. Furthermore, the patients' complaint of disrupted sleep continuity is most likely to benefit from acupuncture. The benefit of acupuncture on residual insomnia associated with previous or partially remitted depression is limited. Future acupuncture studies need to consider applying optimal dosage and addressing deficiencies in trial quality.
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.