AUTHOR=Peng Zhihua , Zheng Yulin , Yang Zeyu , Zhang Hongxiao , Li Zhennan , Xu Mingzhu , Cui Shaoyang , Lin Run 

TITLE=Acupressure: a possible therapeutic strategy for anxiety related to COVID-19: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2024.1341072

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2024.1341072

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=Background: From the end of 2019 to December 2023, the world grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic.       This resulted in many individuals succumbing to fear, anxiety and despair.       Acupoint massage emerged as a safe and effective alternative therapy for anxiety relief.       It undertakes a systematic review of the existing randomized controlled trials(RCTs) assessing the impact of acupoint massage on anxiety treatment, discussing its potential benefits and implications.       This research aims to furnish robust evidence supporting anxiety treatment strategies for patients afflicted with COVID-19 disease and spark new approaches to anxiety management.      Objectives: This study evaluates the evidence derived from randomised controlled trials (RCTs), quantifies the impact of acupressure on anxiety manifestations within the general population, and proposes viable supplementary intervention strategies for managing COVID-19 related anxiety.      This review included RCTs published between February 2014 and July 2023, that compared the effects of acupressure with sham control in alleviating anxiety symptomatology as the outcome measure.       The studies were sourced from the multiple databases, including CINAHL, EBM Reviews, Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, Scopus and Web of Science.       A meta-analysis was performed on the eligible studies, and an overall effect size was computed specifically for the anxiety outcome.       The Cochrane Collaboration Bias Risk Assessment Tool (RevMan V5.4) was employed to assess bias risk, data integration, meta-analysis, and subgroup analysis.     Of 1110 studies of potential relevance, 39 met the criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis.       The majority of the studies reported a positive effect of acupressure in assuaging anticipatory anxiety about treatment.       In the clinical research of traditional Chinese medicine treatment of anxiety, acupressure demonstrated effectiveness in providing instant relief from anxiety related to multiple diseases with a medium effect size.       Considering the increasing incidence of anxiety caused by long COVID, the widespread application of acupressure appears feasible.       However, the results were inconsistent regarding improvements on physiological indicators, calling for more stringent reporting procedures, including allocation concealment, to solidify the findings.