Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture for Anxiety Disorders in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in treating anxiety disorders in adults and provide evidence-based support for clinical practice.Methods Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing experimental groups that received acupuncture for anxiety disorders with control groups that did not were retrieved from four databases (PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, and Embase). The standardised mean difference (SMD) and relative risk (RR) of each, along with its 95% confidence interval (CI), were calculated.Results Twelve RCTs involving 1,240 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Meta-analysis results showed a significantly superior improvement in anxiety symptoms in the acupuncture group compared with the control group, based on both post-treatment scores (SMD=-0.80, 95% CI: -1.11 to -0.48, p<0.001) and change score values (SMD=-1.11, 95% CI: -1.56 to -0.65, p<0.001). Subgroup analyses demonstrated a consistent trend of efficacy across different assessment scales, and there was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events between the acupuncture group and the control group (RR=1.97, 95% CI: 0.50 to 7.74). Sensitivity analysis did not reveal significant changes in the results, confirming the robustness of these findings.Conclusion Current evidence indicates that acupuncture is an effective and safe intervention for treating anxiety disorders in adults, significantly reducing anxiety symptoms with an incidence of adverse events comparable to that of a control group. It is recommended that acupuncture be considered an alternative option in the comprehensive management of anxiety disorders.