Clinical Study of Electroacupuncture Treatment for Post-withdrawal Anxiety and Depression in Drug Addicts

Objective To investigate the intervening effect of electroacupuncture on post-withdrawal anxiety and depression in heroin addicts.Methods One hundred and twenty heroin addicts were randomly allocated to acupuncture group 1(Jiaji points and Shenshu),acupuncture group 2(limb points),a simulated group and a control group.The conditions of the patients were assessed using SAS and SDS before and at 4,8 and 10 weeks after initial treatment.Results Statistical analysis showed that SAS scores and SDS scores in acupuncture group 1 and acupuncture group 2 were significantly different from those in the control group (P0.01,P0.05) at 4,8 and 10 weeks after initial treatment.There was statistically significant difference in SAS score but no in SDS score between acupuncture group 1 and acupuncture group 2.Conclusion Electroacupuncture can significantly improve post-withdrawal anxiety and depression in drug addicts.Electroacupuncture at Jiaji points were significantly superior to electroacupuncture at limb points in improving anxiety,but there was no statistically significant difference in improving depression between the two methods.