Electroacupuncture and acupuncture in the treatment of anxiety - A double blinded randomized parallel clinical trial.

The sample was small, and the groups were unequal after dropouts. The control group received no needle treatment, so it cannot rule out expectation or non-specific effects. Participants were mostly female, so results may not apply equally to men. The paper does not name a single primary outcome, so it is hard to tell which findings were planned as the main test. Salivary cortisol was analysed in fewer participants than the anxiety scores because some samples were not viable, and the authors say cortisol did not differ clearly between groups. Anxiety outcomes were self-reported questionnaires, and the authors note uncertainty about the accuracy of what participants report. Medication subgroup results are not fully clear: the authors report no overall difference, but Table 3 shows a significant BAI difference at one time point. The study was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which the authors link to the sample size.

No funding was declared, and no competing interests were declared.

Do not conclude that acupuncture or electroacupuncture can replace medication or is proven against a sham treatment. The control group received no needles, many participants were taking anxiety medication, and salivary cortisol did not clearly separate groups.