Postpartum Depression

Presentation Slides

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Review Article

Acupuncture could help manage different types of depression by increasing neuroplasticity, decreasing brain inflammation, and reducing side effects of conventional antidepressant treatment.

2022 Current Neuropharmacology Potential Mechanisms and Clinical Effectiveness of Acupuncture in Depression
Yang NN, Lin LL, Li YJ, Li HP, Cao Y, Tan CX, Hao XW, Ma SM, Wang L, Liu CZ

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Acupuncture treatment for postpartum depression is effective and can improve Hamilton Depression (HAMD) Scale, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and serum estradiol scores.

2021 World Journal of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Meta analysis on acupuncture for postpartum depression
WANG, J., TAN, L., MEI, Q., ZHENG, Q., YANG, S., & MEI, Z.

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Traditional Chinese acupuncture seems to be effective in improving some symptoms of postpartum depression.

2019 Journal of the Chinese Medical Association Traditional Chinese acupuncture and postpartum depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Tong P, Dong LP, Yang Y, Shi YH, Sun T, Bo P

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Acupuncture could reduce Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD) scores for postpartum depression.

2019 BioMed Research International Effectiveness of Acupuncture Used for the Management of Postpartum Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Li W, Yin P, Lao L, Xu S

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Chinese herbal medicine improved depression symptoms and severity compared to antidepressants for postpartum depression.

2018 Complementary Therapies in Medicine A systematic review of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for postpartum depression
Yang L, Di YM, Shergis JL, Li Y, Zhang AL, Lu C, Guo X, Xue CC

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Acupuncture in postpartum depression was at least as effective as fluoxetine hydrochloride, supporting the notion that acupuncture may be a safe and effective option.

2018 British Journal of Midwifery Acupuncture versus antidepressants in the management of postpartum depression: A systematic review
Akari Komori, David Arthur, Samara Radford, Hsiewe Ying Tan, Li Zheng, Mira An, Rika Umeda, and Zhen Zheng

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Acupuncture appears to be effective for postpartum depression with respect to certain outcomes.

2018 Acupuncture in Medicine Effectiveness of Acupuncture in Postpartum Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Li S, Zhong W, Peng W, Jiang G

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Chai Hu Shu Gan San (a traditional Chinese Medicine) is a promising in treating depression, especially in post-stroke and postpartum cases.

2018 BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies Treatment of depression with Chai Hu Shu Gan San: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 42 randomized controlled trials
Sun Y, Xu X, Zhang J, Chen Y

Executive Summary

Write an executive summary in the form of a blog article on the topic of "Research into Chinese medicine treatment for Postpartum Depression" summarising the research below and using language that can be easily understood by patients and avoiding medical jargon using a professional and caring tone of voice.

Write an executive summary in the form of a blog article on the topic of "Researched Chinese medicine treatments for Postpartum Depression" summarising the research below in an objective and easy to understand way, and using language that can be easily understood by patients. Group the article into Chinese medicine treatments first, followed by nutrition and other treatments. Avoid using medical jargon and use a professional and caring tone of voice.

Write me a concise but easy to understand executive summary on the topic of "Chinese medicine treatments for Postpartum Depression" based on the following research that I will give you. Your summary should be 2 paragraphs long in Australian English spelling and include references to the studies.

A Review Article published in 2022 in the journal Current Neuropharmacology found that Acupuncture could help manage different types of depression by increasing neuroplasticity, decreasing brain inflammation, and reducing side effects of conventional antidepressant treatment. The study under review examines the possible mechanisms and clinical effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of different forms of depression. To do this, the researchers examined existing studies and evidence involving both human patients and animal models. A significant aspect of the investigation involved assessing how acupuncture influences neuroplasticity within the hippocampus and neural networks, along with probing the role of this non-pharmaceutical therapy in modulating brain inflammation, which had potential implications for alleviating depressive disorders. The discussions of the results indicated that acupuncture showed considerable promise in the relief of primary depression, especially in milder cases. It was also found useful in the management of post-stroke depression, pain-related depression, and post-partum depression. The study noted positive outcomes both when acupuncture was offered as a stand-alone treatment, and when combined with conventional pharmacological treatments. It was observed that the combination of acupuncture and anti-depressant drugs not only improved primary and secondary depressive symptoms but also managed to reduce the side-effects often associated with medication regimens, which are frequent contributors to high dropout rates in pharmacological treatments.

A Systematic Review published in 2021 in the journal World Journal of Acupuncture-Moxibustion found that Acupuncture treatment for postpartum depression is effective and can improve Hamilton Depression (HAMD) Scale, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and serum estradiol scores. Meta analysis was conducted in the literature in recent 10 years relating to clinical randomized controlled trials of acupuncture in treatment of postpartum depression, which provided references for acupuncture in treatment of postpartum depression. Fourteen articles were included in this study, among which, acupuncture group was set as treatment group, and oral administration of fluoxetine as control group in 4 articles; acupuncture group was set as treatment group, and oral administration of maltodextrin granules as control group in 2 articles. The differences in the 6 articles were statistically significant, without interference from other compound factors.

A Systematic Review published in 2019 in the journal Journal of the Chinese Medical Association found that Traditional Chinese acupuncture seems to be effective in improving some symptoms of postpartum depression. A total of 887 PPD patients from 12 randomised controlled trials were included in the quantitative meta-analysis, with 443 patients in the treatment group and 444 patients in the control group. Patients in the acupuncture group had significantly better performances assessed by the Hamilton Depression Scale than those in the control group, and the pooled MD was −1.27 (95% CI: −2.55 to 0.01; p = 0.05, I2 = 83%) in the random-effect model. In addition, significantly better performance in the effective rate was observed in the acupuncture group than in the control group, and the pooled RR was 1.20 (95% CI: 1.09 to 1.33; p < 0.0001, I2 = 46%). However, in subgroup analysis for the acupuncture therapy alone, only effective rate showed a significantly better performance.

A Systematic Review published in 2019 in the journal BioMed Research International found that Acupuncture could reduce Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD) scores for postpartum depression. Though our meta-analysis revealed that acupuncture had a lower efficacy compared to other antidepression treatments, symptoms of depression relief were observed in the majority of the studies analysed. These findings indicate that although the efficacy of acupuncture was lower compared to antidepressants, the benefits of acupuncture were still attractive to women with postpartum depression due to their negligible side-effects. In summary, despite the limitations mentioned above, this current systematic review suggests that acupuncture could reduce HAMD scores. However, EPDS, clinical response, and serum estradiol levels were unaffected by acupuncture treatment. Furthermore, our analysis revealed that treatment efficacy was variable and depended on the control types used. Large-scale and well-designed RCTs are required before a conclusive statement could be made regarding the efficacy of acupuncture for the treatment of postpartum depression.

A Systematic Review published in 2018 in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine found that Chinese herbal medicine improved depression symptoms and severity compared to antidepressants for postpartum depression. This systematic review provides up-to-date evidence of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for postpartum depression. We found Chinese herbal medicine improved depression symptoms and severity compared to antidepressants. Acupuncture was neither superior nor inferior to sham or antidepressants. Adverse events were similar to sham/placebo and less than antidepressants. The full extent of the effect remains inconclusive due to poor quality extant randomized controlled trials.

A Systematic Review published in 2018 in the journal British Journal of Midwifery found that Acupuncture in postpartum depression was at least as effective as fluoxetine hydrochloride, supporting the notion that acupuncture may be a safe and effective option. Of the 1592 studies reviewed, three met the inclusion criteria for quantitative analysis. Two studies reported no significant differences between acupuncture and fluoxetine for depression, while the third reported significant improvements.

A Systematic Review published in 2018 in the journal Acupuncture in Medicine found that Acupuncture appears to be effective for postpartum depression with respect to certain outcomes. Nine trials involving 653 women were selected. The result of this meta-analysis demonstrated that the acupuncture group had a significantly greater overall effective rate compared with the control group. Moreover, acupuncture significantly increased oestradiol levels compared with the control group. Regarding the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) scores, no difference was found between the two groups.

A Systematic Review published in 2018 in the journal BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies found that Chai Hu Shu Gan San (a traditional Chinese Medicine) is a promising in treating depression, especially in post-stroke and postpartum cases. The review assessed the efficacy of Chai Hu Shu Gan San, a traditional Chinese medicine, in treating depression. Out of 560 initial studies, 42 trials met inclusion criteria. These studies were conducted in China from 2006 to 2016, involving 3234 patients with depression. Chai Hu Shu Gan San demonstrated better efficacy compared to controls, especially in post-stroke and postpartum depression. However, the methodological quality of the included studies was assessed as low, with high risks of bias. While Chai Hu Shu Gan San showed promise, further rigorously designed randomized controlled trials are needed for a conclusive evaluation of its safety and efficacy in treating depression.

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