Trial reportBMC complementary medicine and therapies2025
Acupuncture for subthreshold depression: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Acupuncture and Moxibustion for Subthreshold Depression: a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis.Journal of pharmacopuncture · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSubthreshold depression (SD), characterized by depressive symptoms not meeting major depressive disorder (MDD) criteria, poses a significant risk for MDD development. Acupuncture has shown promise for SD, though its efficacy beyond placebo remains unclear. Therefore, we designed this study to evaluate the efficacy of verum acupuncture (VA) compared to sham acupuncture (SA) for SD.
methodsA randomized clinical trial was conducted at the Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China, from September 2021 to October 2023. Participants with SD were randomized 1:1 to receive either VA or SA for 8 weeks, with 12-week follow-up. The primary outcome was the change in Hamilton Depression Scale-17 (HAMD-17) scores from baseline to 8 weeks.
resultsOf 231 screened patients, 64 participants (71.87% female; mean age, 29.83 [SD 6.84] years) were included. Fifty-nine participants (92.2%) completed the study. The mean reduction in HAMD-17 scores from baseline to week 8 was -7.28 (95% CI, -8.26 to -6.3) in the VA group and -3.80 ( 95% CI, -4.42 to -2.77) in the SA group. The between-group difference at week 8 was -4.08 (95% CI, -5.15 to -3.02; P < .001). Effects persisted during the 12-week follow-up. No serious adverse events occurred.
conclusionsAcupuncture demonstrated significant therapeutic effects for SD compared to SA, with benefits extending beyond placebo. These findings support acupuncture as a specific and effective intervention for SD. However, the study's limitations, including its single-center design and relatively young sample, should be considered when generalizing the results.
trial registrationChiCTR2100049660; Registered August 7, 2021.
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