SynthesisFrontiers in psychiatry2025
Electroacupuncture for treating depression-related insomnia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Research trends and hotspots of electroacupuncture for depression: a bibliometric and visual analysis (2005-2025).Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Acupoint Sensitivity in Patients with Primary Insomnia and Its Correlation with Polysomnography and Heart Rate Variability: A Cross-Sectional Study.Nature and science of sleep · 2026Article
- Effects of different electrical stimulation on depression: a protocol for systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Depression is a major mental disorder worldwide, affecting over 264 million people. Approximately 50% of individuals with depression also experience insomnia. The treatment of depression may be complicated by comorbid insomnia. Electroacupuncture (EA) has been widely used in clinical practice, with substantial empirical evidence accumulated for its role in treating both depression and related insomnia. However, a systematic evaluation of its efficacy is lacking. This study seeks to assess the efficacy and safety of EA for treating insomnia related to depression. Methods: Web of Science, Sinomed, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang, Embase, and PubMed were searched up to November 2024 to select randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating EA for treating depression-related insomnia. The literature was selected and the data were extracted separately by two reviewers. The methodological quality of eligible RCTs was evaluated via the risk of bias 2 tool. Meta-analysis was carried out via Stata SE V.15.0 software. Results: 14 studies involving 1342 individuals with depression-related insomnia were included. The results unraveled that EA was more effective in reducing PSQI scores in comparison to the interventions used in the controls (WMD = -2.757, 95% CI: -3.759 to -1.755). Moreover, EA demonstrated superior efficacy in lowering HAMD scores in contrast to the interventions used in the controls (WMD = -3.587, 95% CI: -4.992 to -2.182). Regarding lowering PSQI scores, the subgroup analysis revealed that EA was more effective than Western medication (WMD =-3.598, 95%CI:-4.771 to -2.426), sham acupuncture (SA) (WMD = -3.623, 95% CI: -4.500 to -2.746). For reducing HAMD scores, the subgroup analysis demonstrated that EA had superior efficacy in comparison to Western medication (WMD =-4.903, 95%CI:-6.974 to -2.831), SA (WMD = -4.641, 95% CI: -6.913 to -2.369). Conclusion: Our findings suggested that EA may be effective in treating depression-related insomnia. However, further large-scale, rigorously designed studies are required to validate its efficacy and safety. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42023421281, identifier CRD42023421281.
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