Effectiveness of acupuncture plus music therapy for post-stroke depression: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Post-stroke depression (PSD) is a prevalent complication of stroke that adversely affects patient outcomes. The etiology of PSD is complex, and no universally effective treatment exists. Acupuncture, with its historical use, combined with music therapy, presents a novel approach for PSD treatment. This study aims to systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy of combining acupuncture with music therapy for PSD through a meta-analysis. Methods: We systematically searched both Chinese and English literature in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, and the Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database (VIP Database) for randomized controlled trials evaluating acupuncture combined with music therapy for PSD. Two independent evaluators conducted quality assessments and data extraction. Statistical analyses were performed using RevMan 5.4 and Stata 18.0 software. Results: This article contains 11 studies, involving a total of 698 patients. The results of the meta-analysis showed that, compared with the control group, the test group showed significant improvement on multiple outcome measures: HAMD score [mean difference (MD) = ‐3.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) (‐3.61, ‐2.76), P < .00001], Self-Rating Depression Scale score [MD = ‐5.12, 95% CI (‐6.61, ‐3.63), P < .00001], Pittsburgh sleep quality index score [MD = ‐2.40, 95% CI (‐2.96, ‐1.84), P < .00001], BI score [MD = 14.16, 95% CI (4.37, 23.94), P = .005] were all significantly lower, significantly higher effectiveness [risk ratio = 1.21, 95% CI (1.11, 1.33), P < .0001]. These differences were also statistically significant. Conclusion: The use of acupuncture combined with music therapy is effective in reducing depression in PSD patients.