A dose response of acupuncture and relaxation response for substance craving reduction

Objectives: We examined the dose response of acupuncture and the relaxation response (RR) for treating substance abuse using data collected from a randomized trial.

Methods: Participants were recruited from residents of a homeless veteran rehabilitation program. Enrolled participants were randomly assigned to one of the three study groups: acupuncture (n=23), RR (n=23), or usual care (n=21). The acupuncture group received twice per week treatments and the RR group attended a weekly group to learn RR techniques for 10 weeks. Participants rated their degree of craving (0-10) for substance and anxiety levels (1-4) before and after each session of the intervention. Mixed effects regression models were used to estimate time trend and immediate effects of the intervention.

Results: Degree of craving decreased significantly over 10 weeks for the acupuncture group (regression slope =-0.15, p=.001) based on the rating before each session. The RR group also showed a decreasing trend over time, although not statistically significant (slope=-0.07, p=.18). Degree of craving decreased significantly right after the intervention within each session across the 10 weeks for both acupuncture and RR groups (-1.03, p<.0001; -0.43, p=.04). Similarly, levels of anxiety decreased significantly within each session right after the intervention across the 10 weeks for both groups (-0.44, p<.0001; -0.24, p=0.01). No group difference was observed in time trend and immediate effects.

Conclusion: A dose-response relationship between acupuncture treatment and reductions in substance craving was evident. Immediate effects of acupuncture and RR on reducing craving and lowering anxiety were also observed.