Accupuncture for PTSD?

Exercise, nutrition, sleep strategies, have been shown to help improve a variety of mental health conditions (1).

A previous post discussed yoga for ptsd (2). This post looks at a recent study using acupuncture for ptsd (3)

What is PTSD? (4)

According to the National Institute of Mental health, Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (4):

  • Is a disorder that develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event
  • The main symptoms of PTSD include traumatic experience, arousal/anxiety and re-experiencing symptoms, thought or mood disturbances
  • Treatment typically involves counseling and or medications
  • Learn more about signs, symptoms and treatment of ptsd here: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd

What was the study? (3)

In a randomized trial of 93 veterans with combat-related PTSD compared twice-weekly acupuncture for 24 sessions compared to sham acupuncture with superficial needle insertion (2).

What were the results ?(3)

In an 80 point clinician administered symptom scale, the acupuncture group showed a 14.5 point reduction from baseline vs versus 7.5 point reduction for the sham group (2).

What are some caveats?

  • This is 1 small study and further study is needed
  • Results in the veteran population may not necessarily generalize to other populations such as college students
  • There are other studies showing benefits of acupuncture for ptsd (5,6,7,8)
  • It is unclear which patients with ptsd may benefit from acupuncture as a treatment option.
  • Due to limited evidence, this service may not be covered by insurance for ptsd.

Additional resources for PTSD:

By Ryan S Patel DO, FAPA OSU-CCS Psychiatrist

Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative only. It is advised that you check with your own physician/mental health provider before implementing any changes. With this article, the author is not rendering medical advice, nor diagnosing, prescribing, or treating any condition, or injury; and therefore claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or injury caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material presented.

 

References

  1. Patel R. Mental Health For College Students Chapter 9: Exercise strategies to improve mental health
  1. https://u.osu.edu/emotionalfitness/2024/05/31/yoga-for-ptsd/
  1. Hollifield M, Hsiao AF, Smith T, et al. Acupuncture for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Psychiatry 2024; 81:545.
  2. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd
  1. Engel  CC, Cordova EH, Benedek  DM,  et al.  Randomized effectiveness trial of a brief course of acupuncture for posttraumatic stress disorder.   Med Care. 2014;52(12)(suppl 5):S57-S64. doi:1097/MLR.0000000000000237
  2. Kim  SH, Schneider SM, Kravitz  L, Mermier  C, Burge  MR.  Mind-body practices for posttraumatic stress disorder.   J Investig Med. 2013;61(5):827-834. doi:2310/JIM.0b013e3182906862
  3. King  HC, Spence DL, Hickey  AH, Sargent  P, Elesh  R, Connelly  CD.  Auricular acupuncture for sleep disturbance in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder: a feasibility study.   Mil Med. 2015;180(5):582-590. doi:7205/MILMED-D-14-00451
  4. Moiraghi  C, Poli  P, Piscitelli  A.  An observational study on acupuncture for earthquake-related post-traumatic stress disorder: the experience of the Lombard Association of Medical Acupuncturists/Acupuncture in the world, in Amatrice, Central Italy.   Med Acupunct. 2019;31(2):116-122. doi:10.1089/acu.2018.1329

Breakfast foods and memory

Previous posts have discussed nutrition strategies for depression.  This study looked at breakfast consumption and subsequent performance on memory afterwards (1).

Who was studied? (1)

100  healthy college students

What was the intervention? (1)

A toasted sandwich of about 400 calories with high saturated fat and high sugar, did worse than a similar calorie toasted sandwich with lower saturated fat and low sugar; similar carbohydrate and high protein, about 30 grams vs 10grams).

What were the results? (1)

Just 4 days of a breakfast of high saturated fats and high sugars led to worse performance on memory tests taken after breakfast when compared to as higher protein, moderate carb, lower sugars and lower saturated fat breakfast.

The effect size of this change was significantly associated with the change in blood glucose across the experimental meals.

What does this mean for college students?

  • This study replicated what was initially seen in animal models, but this is just 1 small study and further study is needed.
  • According to this study, college students may remember their class material better if they consumed a breakfast that was high protein, moderate carbohydrate and lower in added sugars, lower in saturated fats.
  • More practically, it may be a good idea to become mindful of your mental performance after you eat various types of meals.
  • An optimized and personalized approach to nutrition can help with both physical and mental health (see resources below like nutrition coaching).

Any other resources to improve nutrition?

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By Ryan S Patel DO, FAPA ,OSU CCS Psychiatrist

Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative only. It is advised that you check with your own physician/mental health provider before implementing any changes. With this article, the author is not rendering medical advice, nor diagnosing, prescribing, or treating any condition, or injury; and therefore claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or injury caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material presented.

Reference:

  1. Attuquayefio T, Stevenson RJ, Oaten MJ, Francis HM. A four-day Western-style dietary intervention causes reductions in hippocampal-dependent learning and memory and interoceptive sensitivity. PLoS One. 2017 Feb 23;12(2):e0172645. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0172645. PMID: 28231304; PMCID: PMC5322971.

Focus problems from social media?

According to a recent survey, U.S. teens spend 4.8 hours per day using seven popular social media apps, with YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram accounting for 87% of their social media time, and specifically, 37% of teens say they spend 5 or more hours a day, 14% spend 4 to less than 5 hours a day, 26% spend 2 to less than 4 hours a day, and 23% spend less than 2 hours a day on these three apps (1,2,3).

Too much screen time is also not good for mental health.  For example, Zhai and colleague’s review of 24 studies shows that too much screen time (> 6 hours per day) can impact depression (1).  Similarly, a review of 31 studies concluded that such sedentary behavior may also impact anxiety (2).

But how about media use and inattention or focus symptoms?

While an estimated 10% of the US population has adhd as of 2022(4) many more young adults report problems with attention, focus.

A recent study looked at the impact of social media use on attention.

What was the study?

3,051 students in 10th grade were followed for 24 months, and monitored for amount and frequency of social media use and adhd symptoms, both via self report. (5)

What was the result?

Over a 2-year follow-up, high-frequency use of digital media  (>2x/day), with social media as one of the most common activities, was associated

with a modest yet statistically significant increased odds of developing ADHD   symptoms (OR 1.10; 95% CI, 1.05-1.15) (5).

What are some caveats?

  • While a number of other studies have shown a correlation (6), this is one of the first studies to show increase in adhd symptoms, but further research is needed.
  • Intuitively, if you have numerous app notifications, use programs for brief periods you are likely conditioning your brain to pay attention for short snippets, which could make it awkward to pay attention for sustained periods of time.

Here is a previous post link with strategies for healthy ways of using media, and technology, including mindful technology use.

By Ryan S Patel DO, FAPA, OSU CCS Psychiatrist

Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative only. It is advised that you check with your own physician/mental health provider before implementing any changes. With this article, the author is not rendering medical advice, nor diagnosing, prescribing, or treating any condition, or injury; and therefore claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or injury caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material presented.

References:

  1. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2024/04/teen-social-use-mental-health#:~:text=4.8%20hours,of%20their%20social%20media%20time.
  2. Rothwell, J. (October 27, 2023). Parenting mitigates social media-linked mental health issues. Gallup. Survey conducted between June 26–July 17, 2023, with responses by 6,643 parents living with children between ages 3 and 19, and 1,591 teens living with those parents. https://news.gallup.com/poll/513248/parenting-mitigates-social-media-linked-mental-health-issues.aspx.
  3. Rothwell, J. (2023). How parenting and self-control mediate the link between social media use and mental health. https://ifstudies.org/ifs-admin/resources/briefs/ifs-gallup-parentingsocialmediascreentime-october2023-1.pdf.
  4. Li Y, Yan X, Li Q, et al. Prevalence and Trends in Diagnosed ADHD Among US Children and Adolescents, 2017-2022. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(10):e2336872. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.36872
  5. 82. Ra, C. K., Cho, J., Stone, M. D., De La Cerda, J., Goldenson, N. I., Moroney, E., Tung, I., Lee, S. S., & Leventhal, A. M. (2018). Association of Digital Media Use With Subsequent Symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Among Adolescents. JAMA, 320(3), 255–263. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.8931
  6. Dekkers, T. J., & van Hoorn, J. (2022). Understanding Problematic Social Media Use in Adolescents with Attention
    Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A Narrative Review and Clinical Recommendations. Brain Sciences, 12(12), 1625. https://
    doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12121625