Acupuncture, Mood, and PCOS
The 20th podcast episode of “Your Fertility Pharmacist” is a bit different. With guest speaker Melsa Maher, fertility acupuncturist, this episode discusses a recent study on traditional medicine. The audio was recorded over Zoom.
Study Background
WHAT
How do lifestyle changes, combined with acupuncture, help to treat polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)?
WHERE
Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
WHO
Inclusion criteria
Women with PCOS (n = 40)
Ages 18 - 40 years old
Tested positive for depression or anxiety on self-assessment questionnaire
Volunteer/informed consent
Exclusion criteria
Acupuncture in the past two months
Drug use in past 90 days
steroid medications
anti-hyperglycemic medications
hormonal medications
anti-depressants
“Severe diseases” (kidney, liver, autoimmune, or cancer)
Suicidal thoughts or other mental health disorders (bipolar, cyclothymia, etc.)
Pregnancy or lactation
HOW
Randomly assigned to acupuncture + lifestyle changes (intervention group) or lifestyle changes alone (control group)
Acupuncture (intervention group)
Every other day (3 times weekly) for four months
specified acupuncture points Ren 4/12, St29/32/34/36, Sp6, Du20, LI4, Ht7
Lifestyle Changes (both intervention and control groups)
Exercise requirements
30-40 minutes daily
each exercise must last at least 10 minutes
Diet requirements
avoid fried foods
reduce daily intake by 500-1000 kcal
Obtained markers at baseline and end of study
Body Mass Index (BMI)
Questionnaires self-rated anxiety score (SAS), self-rating depression scale (SDS), and PCOS health-related quality of life (PCOSQ)
Serum levels of beta-endorphin, estrogen (E), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), free androgen index (FAI), luteinizing hormone (LH), progesterone (P), prolactin (PRL), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), and testosterone (T)
Results
Women receiving acupuncture self-reported improved anxiety, depression, and quality of life compared to controls
Acupuncture group had higher beta-endrophin levels and lower BMI & FAI levels (p < 0.05)
Additional differences: not stated in Chinese-to-English translations
Safety/ evidence of harm: not stated in Chinese-to-English translations
Conclusions
This was a small but well-conducted study. These results indicate that the emotional aspects of PCOS can be improved with a commitment to acupuncture; physical improvements and fertility outcomes should be studied in larger, multi-site trials.
Resources
Chaudhari AP, Mazumdar K, Mehta PD. Anxiety, Depression, and Quality of Life in Women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Indian J Psychol Med. 2018;40(3):239-246. doi:10.4103/IJPSYM.IJPSYM_561_17
Cooney LG, Lee I, Sammel MD, Dokras A. High prevalence of moderate and severe depressive and anxiety symptoms in polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Hum Reprod. 2017;32(5):1075-1091. doi:10.1093/humrep/dex044
De Leo V, Musacchio MC, Cappelli V, Massaro MG, Morgante G, Petraglia F. Genetic, hormonal and metabolic aspects of PCOS: an update. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2016;14(1):38. Published 2016 Jul 16. doi:10.1186/s12958-016-0173-x
PCOS Awareness Association. Overview. https://www.pcosaa.org/overview Accessed 29 Sept 2020.
Zhang HL, Huo ZJ, Wang HN, et al. Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2020;40(4):385-390. doi:10.13703/j.0255-2930.20191231-k0005
Translations via Google Translate as well as Yandex.Translate