Effectiveness of Acupuncture Therapy on Stress in a Large Urban College Population

Schroeder, S.

Burnis, J.

Denton, A.

Krasnow, A.

Raghu, T.S.

Mathis, K.

Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies

2017

10(3)

165-170

RCT

RCT

Mental Disorders

Stress, Psychological

Pilot

Acu Versus Sham

Acupuncture

Auricular Acupuncture

TCM Acupuncture Style

Fixed Acupuncture Protocol

Restricted Modalities

Acupuncture Only

Sham Control

Penetrating Sham

Standard Needling Depth

Non Specific Acupoint Control

This study is a randomized controlled clinical trial to study the effectiveness of acupuncture on the perception of stress in patients who study or work on a large, urban college campus. The hypothesis was that verum acupuncture would demonstrate a significant positive impact on perceived stress as compared to sham acupuncture. This study included 111 participants with high self-reported stress levels who either studied or worked at a large, urban public university in the southwestern United States. However, only 62 participants completed the study. The participants were randomized into a verum acupuncture or sham acupuncture group. Both the groups received treatment once a week for 12 weeks. The Cohen's global measure of perceived stress scale (PSS-14) was completed by each participant prior to treatment, at 6 weeks, at 12 weeks, and 6 weeks and 12 weeks post-treatment completion. While participants of both the groups showed a substantial initial decrease in perceived stress scores, at 12 weeks post treatment, the verum acupuncture group showed a significantly greater treatment effect than the sham acupuncture group. This study indicates that acupuncture may be successful in decreasing the perception of stress in students and staff at a large urban university, and this effect persists for at least 3 months after the completion of treatment.

10.1016/j.jams.2017.01.002

PMID:28712475

English

Mental Disorders

1/WK

111

12 Weeks