Integrated traditional and Western medicine for treatment of depression based on syndrome differentiation: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials based on the Hamilton depression scale

ObjectiveTo systematically review the benefits of integrated traditional and Western medicine therapies based on the Hamilton depression scale (HAMD) following syndrome differentiation of depression.MethodsWe searched six English and Chinese electronic databases for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) on integrated traditional and Western medicine for treatment of depression. Two authors extracted data and independently assessed the trial quality. RevMan 5 software was used for data analyses with an effect estimate presented as weighted mean difference (WMD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI).ResultsSeven RCTs with 576 participants were identified for this review. All trials were eligible for the meta-analysis and were evaluated as unclear or having a risk of bias. Meta-analysis showed, compared with Western medicine alone, integrated traditional and Western medicine based on syndrome differentiation could improve the effect of treatment represented by the HAMD [WMD=−2.39, CI (−2.96,−1.83), Z=8.29, P<0.00001]. There were no reported serious adverse effects that were related to integrated traditional and Western medicine based therapies in these trials.ConclusionsIntegrated traditional and Western medicine based therapies for the syndrome differentiation of depression significantly improved the HAMD, illustrating that combining therapies from integrated traditional and Western medicine for treatment of depression is better than Western medicine alone. However, further large, rigorously designed trials are warranted due to the insufficient methodological rigor seen in the trials included in this study.