effectiveness of electroacupuncture combined with antidepressants in treating mixed anxiety–depressive disorder: a retrospective cohort study

Mixed anxiety–depressive disorder (madd) is frequently underdiagnosed and often responds only partially to conventional pharmacotherapy. electroacupuncture (ea) has emerged as a complementary treatment strategy, but robust data on its combined use with antidepressants remain limited. this study aimed to evaluate whether adding ea to standard antidepressant therapy accelerates symptom relief and improves overall outcomes in individuals with madd. we retrospectively reviewed medical records of 60 adults meeting icd‑10 criteria for madd, treated between july 2021 and june 2024. thirty patients received sertraline ± diazepam plus ea (40 sessions), while 30 matched controls received medication alone. anxiety and depression were assessed using the hamilton anxiety rating scale (hars) and hamilton depression rating scale (hdrs) at baseline, days 28 and 56. both groups showed significant within-group reductions in hars and hdrs scores (p < 0.001). compared with controls, the ea group exhibited greater anxiety improvement by day 28 (δhars = –3.1 ± 1.2 vs. –2.0 ± 1.0; p = 0.002) and superior depression relief by day 56 (δhdrs = –8.6 ± 3.0 vs. –6.1 ± 3.2; p = 0.020). integrating ea with standard pharmacotherapy may accelerate anxiolytic effects and enhance antidepressant efficacy in madd. larger prospective randomized trials with systematic safety monitoring are warranted to confirm these findings.