Auricular acupuncture for sleep quality in participants with mental and behavioral disorders due to prior multiple drug use: a retrospective consecutive case series

BACKGROUND: Poor sleep quality is associated with psychoactive substance abuse/addiction/withdrawal. Auricular acupuncture (AA) is a nonpharmacological method used for the treatment of sleep disturbances. This study aimed to examine the quality of sleep before and after AA in participants with mental and behavioral disorders due to prior multiple drug use in the therapeutic community. METHODS: This was a consecutive case series of 27 participants (25 male [92.6%]). The median age was 35.0 years (interquartile range [IQR], 29.0–37.2 years), methadone/buprenorphine were not used, and the participants were treated with AA (median number of treatments, 15.0 [IQR, 12.0–18.0]) during a median period of 51.0 days (IQR, 49.0–51.0 days) according to the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA)-Acudetox protocol. Sleep quality was determined using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a self-rated questionnaire that assesses sleep quality and disturbances over a 1-month interval. RESULTS: The global PSQI score dropped (indicating better sleep quality) by a median of 3.0 points (IQR, 0.0–8.0 points) after treatment. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, with an increase in global PSQI score during AA by 1 point, there was a 0.73-fold reduction in the risk of poor sleep quality post-AA (adjusted odds ratio, 0.73; 95% confidence interval, 0.52–1.01; p<0.055; Nagelkerke's R(2)=0.66). CONCLUSION: The results revealed a positive effect of AA (by the NADA-Acudetox protocol) on sleep quality (as measured by PSQI) among participants in a treatment center with mental and behavioral disorders due to multiple drug use.