---
title: Does acupuncture help with irritability and other mood symptoms of PMS?
description: Yes. Women who received acupuncture showed significant improvement in their mood symptoms. About 73% of women said they were satisfied with the treatment.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/a-comparative-study-on-the-effectiveness-of-acupuncture-in-treating-psychiatric-2016/
---

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- Does acupuncture help with irritability and other mood symptoms of PMS?

Study, 2016

# Does acupuncture help with irritability and other mood symptoms of PMS?

Yes. Women who received acupuncture showed significant improvement in their mood symptoms. About 73% of women said they were satisfied with the treatment.

 Moderate study design

30 women with premenstrual irritability in treatment group, 22 women with premenstrual irritability in control group

## What they did

Researchers compared 30 women with premenstrual irritability who received acupuncture treatment to 22 women with the same symptoms who did not receive treatment. Women in the treatment group had 6 acupuncture sessions, one per week over 6 weeks. Mood and psychiatric symptoms were measured using an 18-question scale.

## What they found

All symptoms, including irritability, improved by about 43%. Of the 30 women treated with acupuncture, 73.3% (22 women) reported being satisfied with the results. The treatment group showed clear improvement compared to the control group and compared to their own symptoms before treatment.

## What it means for you

Acupuncture may help reduce irritability and mood symptoms in PMS. The main limits are the small number of people studied and that women in the control group knew they weren't receiving treatment, which could affect their symptoms. The study was done in one location and may not apply to all women.

30

women in treatment group

6

acupuncture sessions

73.3%

satisfied with treatment

## About the study

Original title A Comparative Study on the Effectiveness of Acupuncture in Treating Psychiatric Symptoms of Premenstrual Syndrome Authors Tetsuya Isobe Journal 日本東洋醫學雜誌 Year 2016 Study design Study What was tested Acupuncture, 6 sessions over 6 weeks Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.3937/kampomed.67.264](https://doi.org/10.3937/kampomed.67.264)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Acupuncture and acupressure](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-acupuncture/)

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