Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry (동의신경정신과학회지)

The Korean Society of Oriental Neuropsychiatry (대한한방신경정신과학회)
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Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on Herbal Medicine for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Focusing on Clinical Studies over the Past 5 Years

범불안장애의 한약 치료에 관한 체계적 문헌고찰 및 메타분석: 최근 5년 임상연구를 중심으로

  • Min-Jae Kim (Department of Oriental Neuropsychiatry, College of Korean Medicine, Dong-eui University) ;
  • Hyun-Seob Park (Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, College of Korean Medicine, Dong-eui University) ;
  • Chan-Young Kwon (Department of Oriental Neuropsychiatry, College of Korean Medicine, Dong-eui University)
  • 김민재 (동의대학교 한의과대학 한방신경정신과) ;
  • 박현섭 (동의대학교 한의과대학 침구과) ;
  • 권찬영 (동의대학교 한의과대학 한방신경정신과)
  • Received : 2023.12.10
  • Accepted : 2023.12.27
  • Published : 2023.12.30
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Abstract

Objectives: This study investigated the effectiveness of herbal medicine for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) based on recent clinical studies. Methods: Studies were searched through four databases. Clinical research studies on herbal medicine treatment for GAD patients were included. The studies were analyzed according to study design, diagnostic criteria, population, and intervention. A risk of bias assessment was performed to assess the quality of the included randomized controlled trials (RCT). If the intervention applied to the treatment and control groups was the same and two or more studies were reporting the same items as outcome indicators, a meta-analysis was performed. Results: A total of 19 studies, including 12 RCTs were selected. The most common pattern identification was 'Phlegm fire disturbing upward' (痰熱上擾), and the most used herb for therapeutic purposes was 'Rhizome of Poria cocos' (茯苓). Meta-analysis results of three studies showed that there were no significant differences in effectiveness between the herbal medicine intervention and the Western medicine intervention. Meta-analysis results of five studies showed that the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale was significantly reduced in the case of herbal medicine intervention compared to Western medicine intervention. Conclusions: The results of our study demonstrated that herbal medicine treatment for GAD is effective in alleviating anxiety symptoms and chief symptoms of GAD. However, this study has several limitations; there was a lack of placebo-controlled RCT and an absence of objective diagnostic criteria in case reports. Therefore, further well-designed clinical studies, conducted based on the results of this study, are recommended.

Keywords

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