Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of acupuncture combined with western medicine for depression based on patient-reported outcomes（ PROs）. Methods Totally 88 cases of mild to moderate depression were randomized into the electro-acupuncture（ EA） group（ 28 cases）

manual acupuncture group（ 25 cases）

and western medicine group（ 35 cases）. The western medicine group was given Paroxetine Hydrochloride Tablets

10 mg / d during the first two days and 20 mg / d from the 3rd day of treatment for a total of six weeks. The manual acupuncture group and EA group were added with acupuncture or EA on the main acupoints of Baihui（ GV20） and Yintang（ EXHN3） and basic acupoints of Fengfu（ GV16）

Fengchi（ GB20

bilateral）

Dazhui（ GV14）

Neiguan（ PC6

bilateral） and Sanyinjiao（ SP6

bilateral） on the basis of western medicine group. The manual acupuncture group and EA group were given acupuncture 30 min each time and once every other day for six weeks. The therapeutic effect was evaluated according to the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression-17 items（ HAMD-17） and the Measure Yourself Medical Outcome Profile（ MYMOP）. Results The total effective rate of the EA group

manual acupuncture group and western medicine group were 89. 28%

92. 00% and 85. 71% respectively. The total effective rates of the EA group and manual acupuncture group were superior to that of the western medicine group. There were significant differences between before and after treatment in the scores of MYMOP in all groups（ P < 0. 05）. The scores of MYMOP in the EA group and manual acupuncture group were significantly lower than those in the western medicine group after treatment（ P < 0. 05）. There was no significant difference between the EA group and manual acupuncture group in the scores of MYMOP after treatment（ P > 0. 05）. Conclusion The combo therapy of acupuncture and western medicine can obviously reduce the scores of HAMD-17 and MYMOP

relieve the main symptoms

and improve the overall health status and activities in mild to moderate depression patients

with a better efficacy as compared with simple western medicine.