Introduction:
Auriculotherapy is a therapeutic technique from Traditional Chinese Medicine that involves stimulating specific points on the auricular pavilion, aiming to modulate body functions through activation of the Central Nervous System. Studies have demonstrated its potential as a complementary approach in the management of emotional disorders, such as Common Mental Disorders (CMDs)—conditions that are increasingly affecting populations worldwide. This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the impact of auriculotherapy on improving symptoms related to CMDs in the population of Southwest Paraná, Brazil.
Methods:
The study was approved by the ethics committee under opinion no. 6.275.792/2023, and all participants signed an informed consent form. The sample consisted of 297 participants, selected by convenience, who underwent eight sessions of auriculotherapy. Before and after the treatment, participants completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and underwent an energy assessment using the Ryodoraku method. In a subgroup of 115 patients, blood samples were collected by venipuncture before and after the treatment to measure basal cortisol levels and oxidative stress markers (vitamin C, protein thiols – P-SH, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances – TBARS). Auriculotherapy was applied to the Shen Men, Kidney, Autonomic Nervous System, Liver, Spleen-Pancreas, Heart, Anxiety, and San Jiao points. All data were subjected to statistical analysis to assess the impact of the treatment on the evaluated variables.
Results and discussion:
Approximately 54% of participants were female, aged between 18 and 30 years. Regarding the DASS-21 results, 65.16% of patients were classified within the normal range for depression before treatment, increasing to 80.31% after treatment (p=0.01); for anxiety, 58.43% were within the normal range before, and 71.35% after (p=0.01); and for stress, 74.21% were normal before, rising to 87.64% after treatment (p=0.01). The PSS-10 results indicated a reduction in perceived stress levels from 22.59 to 18.80 (p=0.01). Ryodoraku analysis showed improvement in all meridians evaluated after treatment, although without statistically significant differences. Regarding cortisol, 13.04% of patients had levels outside the reference values before treatment, decreasing to 6.09% afterward (p=0.01). As for oxidative stress, significant differences were observed in P-SH levels, which increased from 2.28 to 3.78 nmol/mL (p<0.001), and in TBARS levels, which decreased from 5.96 to 2.92 nmol/mL (p<0.001), suggesting improvement in the antioxidant profile after treatment.
Conclusions:
Improvement was observed in all variables related to CMDs, as well as in cortisol levels and oxidative stress markers, indicating increased antioxidant activity and reduced production of oxidants following auriculotherapy treatment. The evidence suggests that auriculotherapy may represent a promising complementary care strategy for promoting mental health, with benefits associated with redox balance and regulation of cortisol levels.
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