Efficacy of auricular acupuncture on sleep quality among individuals with depression: a clinical trial

Resumo

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of auricular acupuncture in reducing insomnia symptoms among individuals with depression compared with non-specific auricular acupuncture, at four weeks, six weeks, and three months after the intervention began. METHODS: A randomized, blinded clinical trial assessed sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index in 74 adults equally divided into two groups: specific auricular acupuncture and non-specific auricular acupuncture. Both groups underwent 12 auricular acupuncture sessions performed twice a week. RESULTS: After three months, the intention-to-treat analysis found no statistically significant difference in achieving good sleep quality between groups (33.3% versus 26.1%, p > 0.05). However, a trend toward statistical significance occurred after 4 weeks, with 50% of participants in the experimental group and 24.1% in the control group achieving good sleep quality (p = 0.057). CONCLUSIONS: We observed no statistically significant difference in sleep quality between individuals with depressive symptoms undergoing specific auricular acupuncture compared with non-specific after three months. However, a significant trend (p = 0.057) confirmed by the per-protocol analysis (p = 0.038) indicated that participants receiving specific auricular acupuncture had a 69% higher chance of achieving good sleep quality after four weeks. These findings should be interpreted with caution, as they did not reach statistical significance; rather, they reflect a trend toward significant improvement and are subject to the study’s limitations.