摘要
In recent years,postpartum depression has gained increasing attention around the world due to its high prevalence and severe health consequences.Meanwhile,a considerable number of postpartum depression patients seek help from alternative therapies especially acupuncture,despite the limited evidence available in terms of the effectiveness of acupuncture on postpartum depression.This article summarizes the Chinese and English randomized controlled trials available on acupuncture treatment for postpartum depression over the past ten years and provides a detailed review.10 randomized controlled trials were identified in this review.The treatment regimens described in these studies included acupuncture mono-therapy,electro-acupuncture mono-therapy,or acupuncture combined with other therapies;and the treatment duration ranged from one month to three months.The Hamilton Depression Scale,Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale,and estradiol levels in serum were commonly used to assess the efficacy of acupuncture on postpartum depression.The published data suggests that acupuncture,including manual and electrical stimulation,can significantly reduce Hamilton Depression scores and Edinburgh Postpartum Depression scores,and can increase serum estradiol levels compared with different controls.Furthermore,fewer adverse effects were reported following acupuncture treatment than in the control treatment group.Conversely,there have also been some studies reporting inconsistent results in the effectiveness of acupuncture on postpartum depression.Therefore,acupuncture appears to be a potentially effective and safe therapy for postpartum depression,but its outcomes require validation by more rigorously designed studies.
