{
  "abstract": "Introduction: To evaluate the short-term efficacy and safety of acupuncture–antidepressant combinations for clinically diagnosed depressive disorders among participants recruited in China using a network meta-analysis.\n\nMethods: PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, and Wanfang were searched from inception to February 2025 for randomised controlled trials of acupuncture–antidepressant combinations and relevant pharmacological or acupuncture-related comparators. The principal efficacy outcome was change in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD/HDRS) scores; safety outcomes included nausea/vomiting, dry mouth, headache, and treatment discontinuation. Risk of bias was assessed using RoB 2. Random-effects Bayesian network meta-analyses were conducted in R version 3.6.0 using gemtc version 0.8.1. Mean differences or odds ratios are presented with 95% credible intervals (CrIs), together with posterior rank-position probabilities. A standardised mean difference (SMD)-based sensitivity analysis assessed the influence of pooling HAMD-17 and HAMD-24.\n\nResults: Seventy-seven trials (7,031 participants) were included in the systematic review. Within the principal connected eight-node efficacy network, manual acupuncture plus selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors produced the largest reduction versus SSRI monotherapy (mean difference −3.37; 95% CrI −3.86 to −2.89) and the highest probability of occupying Rank 8 (the most effective position). Electroacupuncture plus SSRIs was also associated with a greater reduction in HAMD scores than SSRIs alone (MD −2.98; 95% CrI −3.66 to −2.31). Manual acupuncture plus SNRIs also favoured combination treatment (MD −3.16; 95% CrI −6.03 to −0.28), although the interval was comparatively wide. The SMD sensitivity analysis retained benefit for both EA + SSRIs and MA + SSRIs relative to SSRIs, although their relative ordering differed from the raw-MD analysis. The available adverse-event networks did not identify statistically clear differences from SSRI monotherapy; however, sparse events and very wide CrIs limit the strength of this finding.\n\nConclusion: Manual acupuncture plus an SSRI was associated with the largest short-term HAMD reduction in the primary raw-MD network. Relative treatment ordering differed in the SMD sensitivity analysis. The estimates should be interpreted cautiously because clinical heterogeneity, risk-of-bias concerns, sparse safety data, and limited follow-up preclude claims of equivalent safety or a preferred first-line strategy.\n\nSystematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/View/CRD420251029584 , identifier CRD420251029584.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University",
    "Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia",
    "The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University",
    "The Fifth People’s Hospital of Lingbao City",
    "Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin"
  ],
  "article_type": "systematic review",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Qiyue Qiu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Zheng Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Weiwei Yang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Wan Yin Tew"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Chenxi Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Mohammad Farris Iman Leong Bin Abdullah"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Mun Fei Yam"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shichang Yang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b6fvsrk5wr6wt.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1805745",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13727528/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "b6fvsrk5wr6wt",
  "issns": [
    "1664-0640"
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  "landing_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1805745/full",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Systematic Review"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2707|Acupuncture Treatment Research Studies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223069948",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1805745/pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13727528",
  "pmid": "42978739",
  "published": "2026-10-20",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media SA",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b6fvsrk5wr6wt.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:18Z",
      "native_id": "10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1805745",
      "source": "crossref",
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "issn:1664-0640",
      "subfield": "psychiatry"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Acupuncture–antidepressant combinations for clinically diagnosed depressive disorders in China: a systematic review and network meta-analysis",
  "title_text": "Acupuncture–antidepressant combinations for clinically diagnosed depressive disorders in China: a systematic review and network meta-analysis",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-06T12:23:23Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b6fvsrk5wr6wt",
  "venue": "Frontiers in Psychiatry",
  "versions": []
}