Acupuncture for Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Summary

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common mental disorder characterized by persistent excessive worry, which seriously affects patients' quality of life. Electroacupuncture (EA) has been widely used in the clinical treatment of anxiety disorders, but the optimal stimulation parameters remain unclear. This study will adopt a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design to systematically compare the clinical efficacy of three different EA stimulation parameters (2 Hz continuous wave, 100 Hz continuous wave, and 2 Hz/100 Hz dense-disperse wave) in patients with GAD. Multidimensional outcome assessment tools will be used to comprehensively evaluate the therapeutic effects of different stimulation modes. The results of this study are expected to provide evidence-based reference for the selection of electroacupuncture parameters in the treatment of GAD, so as to optimize the clinical treatment regimen and improve the therapeutic effect.

Conditions

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Interventions

DEVICE

sham electro-acupuncture

After connecting the electro - acupuncture device, the power was cut off for 30 minutes each time.Treatment was carried out 3 times a week for 4 consecutive weeks, a total of 12 times.

DEVICE

2Hz electro-acupuncture

Electro-acupuncture device was connected to the bilateral Shenmen (HT7) and Neiguan (PC6) acupoints. The intensity was set to the level that the subjects could tolerate, and the frequencies were 2Hz for 30 minutes each time. Treatment was carried out 3 times a week for 4 consecutive weeks, a total of 12 times.

DEVICE

100Hz electro-acupuncture

Electro-acupuncture device was connected to the bilateral Shenmen (HT7) and Neiguan (PC6) acupoints. The intensity was set to the level that the subjects could tolerate, and the frequencies were 100Hz for 30 minutes each time. Treatment was carried out 3 times a week for 4 consecutive weeks, a total of 12 times.

DEVICE

2Hz/100Hz electro-acupuncture

Electro-acupuncture device was connected to the bilateral Shenmen (HT7) and Neiguan (PC6) acupoints. The intensity was set to the level that the subjects could tolerate, and the frequencies were 2Hz/100Hz for 30 minutes each time. Treatment was carried out 3 times a week for 4 consecutive weeks, a total of 12 times.

OTHER

manual acupuncture

Needles with a specification of 0.25×25mm were selected. Manual acupuncture is performed at the acupoints of Neiguan (PC6), Shenmen (HT7), Taichong (LR3), Sanyinjiao (SP6) and Sishencong (EX-HN1).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, School of Medicine

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

TRIPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

60 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-09-01

Primary Completion

2028-10-30

Completion

2028-12-31

Countries

• China

Study Locations