THE EFFECT OF AURICULOTHERAPY ON STRESS, ANXIETY, AND DEPRESSION IN MS PATIENTS: A DOUBLE BLIND RANDOMIZED CLINICAL CONTROL TRIAL (PARALLEL DESIGN)

MAHBOUBEH VALIANI¹, MARJAN MANSOURIAN², FERESHTEH ASHTARI¹

¹Isfahan Neurosciences Research Center, Alzahra research Institute, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran - ²Department of Biostatistics, Health School, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

Background: MS is one of the central nervous system diseases, which is of relatively high prevalence among neurological diseases. Multiple studies have shown that stressful life is associated with an increased risk of MS. The aim of this study is to investi- gate the impact of using the auriculotherapy technique on stress, anxiety, and depression in MS patients.

Materials and methods: This study was a double blind randomized clinical trial in two groups. The sample size was estimated to be 64 subjects in each group. The Center for MS at Kashani hospital in the Province of Isfahan was the location of research. DASS-21 questionnaire were completed before, after and one month after intervention. The auriculotherapy technique began in the intervention group and at the end of each session, herbal vaccaria seeds were fixed at three main points on the ear, for at least 3 days. All the tests were carried out using the SPSS19 software at an error level of 5%.

Results: The results showed that the mean score of stress, anxiety and depression decreased in the auriculotherapy group com- pared with that in the placebo group. The analysis of variance showed significant differences between the two groups after interven- tion and one month later (P <0.05). Whereas the stress, anxiety and depression score had not undergone any significant changes before intervention in two groups (P>0.05).

Conclusion: Auriculotherapy as a safe and effective technique reduced stress, anxiety, and depression in MS patients.