Acupuncture for Major Depressive Disorder: A Data Mining-Based Literature Study

Abstract

Mingqi Tu,1,* Sangsang Xiong,1,* Shengxia Lv,2,* Xiaoting Wu,1 Hantong Hu,3 Renjie Hu,4 Jianqiao Fang,1 Xiaomei Shao1 1Key Laboratory for Research ofAcupuncture Treatment and Transformation of Emotional Diseases, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2The School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 4The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xiaomei Shao, Key Laboratory for Research of Acupuncture Treatment and Transformation of Emotional Diseases, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, No. 548, Binwen Road, Binjiang District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China, Tel [phone], Email [email protected]: Acupuncture has a long history of treating major depressive disorder (MDD), yet the acupoint selection of acupuncture for MDD varies greatly. This study aimed to explore the characteristics and principles of acupuncture for MDD by analyzing clinical trials of acupuncture for MDD using data mining techniques.Methods: In this study, clinical trials of acupuncture for MDD were retrieved and relevant data were extracted, and then the data were analyzed by data mining techniques. In addition, association rule mining, network analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis were used to determine the correlation between different acupoints.Results: The results revealed that GV20, LR3, PC6, SP6 and GV29 were used most frequently; acupoints in the Yang meridian were used more often than those in the Yin meridian, with the most applied acupoints in the Governor Vessel; the percentage of specific acupoints applied was 69.39%, with the most applied being five-shu points; the frequency of acupoints used was highest in the lower limbs, while the head, face, and neck had the most acupoints used; GV29 combined with GV20 were the most used acupoint groups; the core acupoints used for MDD were GV20, PC6 and SP36; there were 5 acupoint groups according to the cluster analysis. The most used acupuncture method was manual acupuncture; the frequency of treatment was mostly 7 times per week and the duration of treatment was mostly 42 days.Discussion: We discussed the current character of acupuncture treatment on MDD, including the frequency used of acupoints, the property of used acupoints, the acupoint combination, the acupuncture method, and the frequency and duration of treatment. These findings may provide new ideas for the clinical treatment of MDD. However, further clinical/experimental studies are needed to demonstrate the significance of this concept and approach.Keywords: acupuncture treatment, data mining technology, association rule mining, network analysis, cluster analysis

Keywords

• acupuncture treatment
• data mining technology
• association rule mining
• network analysis
• cluster analysis